It's the Accent
by amdragjakelong'sgurl
Summary: Greg's sister works with him at the crime lab, As the team leading Forensic Anthropologist. How does she help the team? Set during season 1 and onwards. Before 'Control'. Nick/oc
1. Chapter 1

A/n: Any cases Simone is involved with are based on Bones. The first few chapters are based off of the episode "The Skull in the desert". I don't own CSI or Bones.

Simone Sanders was a simplistic girl. Well, as simplistic as a genius twenty year old forensic anthropologist can be, while working with her big brother in Las Vegas. Sure, she had the money to buy an pricey apartment in Miami or Cali, but instead she lived in the basement of a small two storey house she rented out with Greg. Yeah, she had the brains to work at the best schools in the country, but instead she was the Forensic Anthropologist identifying the odd dead body that was too damaged or decomposed for LVPD to identify. She had the money to buy the best cars possible, but she stuck with the beat up Trans Am she got when she was seventeen. Simone _was _simplistic. The date she was on right now wasn't at all.

He was terrible. Sure, he was dressed nicely, and he was wearing the expensive cologne that made most women wild with passion. He wasn't shy about spending thousands, either, sitting with Simone in an expensive resturant in the middle of the Strip. She was unimpressed. In fact, the only reason she'd ageed to this date was for two reasons. 1) He was Greg's friend, by name of Raymond, and 2) she really needed to get her mind off of _him_. It wasn't working. She's spent the past hour comparing Raymond to _him_.

_He_ always dressed casual. Nice but not overly nice, even for work. _He _had a natural wood scent that was fifty percent cedar, fifty percent pine and one hundred percent _him._ _He_ had no problem just going out to get burgers or to sit in the breakroom snacking on left overs. No to mention that irresistable accent that made her shiver.

"And then, this homeless man came up to me and was like 'Can you spare a dollar, sir?' and I was like 'Yeah, sure, I can. But I won't!' and walked away. I mean really, who was that guy thinking he was?" Raymond laughed alone. He then looked at Simone. "Enough about me. What did you do today?"

Simone sighed and smiled falsely at him.

"I identified the remains of a twelve year old girl who was murdered by her father because he didn't like the way she talked to him. He bashed her skull in during a lapse of his insanity."

Raymond stared at her, disturbed.

"That's nice..."

"And not true. Greg didn't call me-" She was cut off by the sound of her cell phone ringing in her pocket. "Scratch that. Yet. Greg didn't call me yet." She turned away from Raymond and answered her phone. "This is Sanders."

"Yeah, no duh. Listen, found a skull on the porch of Spring Valley's Sheriffs office. How fast do you think you can get away from Ray and down to where Grissom is?"

"Now wouldn't be fast enough, Greg," Simone laughed and stood. She faked a sorry smile in Ray's direction, mouthing 'gotta go to work'. "I hope you don't mind the dress. "

"I hear about anyone looking up your legs I'll have Grissom shoot them in the balls."

"Yes, Greg. You do that. I'll be there in ten." She exited the resturant and got into the standard issue CSI vehichal and drove off without another word to the now fuming Raymond.

Simone arived at the scene two minuets before she said she'd be there.

"Hello, Simone," Grissom handed her a pair of gloves. Then he held up a jacket, undoubtedly Greg's. "Greg, uh...Wanted me to tell you to put this on."

"Right," Simone rolled her eyes, and slipped Greg's jacket over her shoulders. "Where's my Skull?"

"This way," Grissom led her away from her car and over to where Sara was taking pictures of the skull. Simone smiled at her as she knelt down. Sure, Simone didn't like Sara too much, but Sara was new, that meant that Simone wouldn't judge right away.

"Okay." She pulled on the gloves, and picked up the skull. "Prominant brow ridge indicates the Victim was male. Caucasion, judging by cranial shape and nasal passages. Why'd we get called?"

"We're the only crime lab with a Forensic Anthropologist on pay roll. Grissom and Sara both got next to her.

"Age range?" Sara began writing down what Simone was saying.

"Thirty to thirty-five." She grabbed a swab from Grissom and scraped black residue from the skull. She sniffed it. The Sheriff watched, disgusted. "Putrescine. Early stages of decomp." She handed the swab back to Grissom and he bagged it.

"Cause of death?" Asked Grissom.

"Well, a man get's caught unawares in the desert, he could be dead in a few hours." The sheriff explained.

"Uh oh," Simone mumbled, examining the base of the skull more closely.

"What uh-oh?" Sara asked.

"Base of the skull here, detached from the spinal cord." She pointed it out to Sara. "See the bevel marks? Peri-mortem contact gunshot. It wasn't just the desert who caught this man unawares. It was someone with a gun."

"Tell you what. Go back to the lab and relax till we get your skull there." Grissom told her.

"Okay, boss." Simone mock saluted. "Good thing I left a change of clothes back at the lab, I am not liking this dress. See you, Griss."

Just Simone's luck, _he_ was in the locker room when she got there. Shirtless. Why did he have to be shirtless?

"Nick,"

"Sims," His own personal nickname for her sent shivers down her back. "You look nice. Date?"

"Ew don't remind me. Do me a favor," She couldn't believe she had to ask him this. "Unzip me?"

"Sure," Nick laughed and slid the zipper down carefully before walking out. "See ya, Darlin'"

"Thanks," She called helplessly after him. She then sighed and growled angrily at herself. She took all her jewlery off and placed it in the locker she shared with Greg. They had shared a locker in grade school and highschool. They had even been aloud to share dorm rooms in college because of their parents calling the school board.

She slipped the dress off next, putting on a corset, purple-ish pink with buttons up the front, and a black, see through summer top. Then her skinny jeans and burgandy converse. She and Greg still had a little of their old high school/college flare. She wasn't afraid or ashamed to admit she'd at one point been part of the punk/emo scene. She was just the geek of that particular group.

She walked to her brother's self proclaimed kingdom and took a seat across from him. He was sitting in his geeky hawaiian shirts they both loved, though Simone only slept in them so he'd have to do the wash sooner. Greg was rocking out to his hardcore music.

"Greg, you'll go deaf." Greg looked up at his sister, grinned and shrugged. He was doing tests for Nick's current case.

"Hey," Sara knocked on the door. "For you," She handed Greg and Simone each a few things to test. "Grissom says to get back to him with the results on DNA ASAP."

She left again, with Greg checking out her ass. Simone laughed and playfully smacked him, slipping on her lab coat.

Hours later, Simone was looking for Grissom. She came across Nick. Well, actually, she physically ran into him.

"Oh, hey Nicky, you seen Griss anywhere?"

"Yeah, he's back at his other crime scene. But you wanna come with me and Catherine to see about some Dean of a school's death?"

"Sure," Simone smiled. Any opertunity to spend a little time with Nick.


	2. Chapter 2

Simone sat quietly next to Nick on the ride over to the school. Her phone rang and she jumped. Nick laughed quietly. Simone sighed as she saw who was calling, and pressed ignore.

"Boyfriend troubles?" Nick asked.

"Stalker troubles, more like."

"Real stalker?" Nick's knuckles turned white against the wheel.

"No. Just Greg's friend he tried to set me up with. He's too superficial for me to handle, I've realized." Her phone rang again. She rolled her eyes and pressed ignore again.

"Persistant little fella isn't he."

"Greg said Raymond begged for weeks for him to get me to go on a date. Greg doesn't like him much."

"I'm sure, seeing your reaction." Simone's phone rang one more time and Nick grabbed it out of her hands. "Is this Raymond?" Nick practically growled into the phone. "This is Nick. I work with her. And I'm her boyfriend." Nick paused and laughed. "Yeah, well one date isn't something that says you can call her every other minute. Give it up man. She only agreed because you begged her brother and we all felt sorry enough for you that she agreed." Simone could hear Raymond's shouting from where she was. "Listen man. I am a cop. You want to call again, I will come to your house and I _will_ charge you with harassment." He hung up and tossed Simone her phone. "Tell me if he calls you, yeah?"

"Yeah," Simone laughed. Nick relaxed at the sound. "Thanks."

"Sure, Sims, no problem." Nick pulled up at the school and Simone got out and went to Catherine's side.

"Hey," Catherine smiled at her. "Nicky dragged you along, huh?"

"Yeah," She looked at the man, dead on the floor. "Who's the dude?"

"Vernan Woods. Dean of the school."

"May I?" She gestured to the body. "I may be the Bone-Lady, but I'm not limited to that. I can still probably tell COD."

"If you wear gloves." Simone took the ones Nick handed to her. Then she knelt down. "Late forties, probably single. Multiple blunt force trauma wounds to the head. With this, most likely. Nick," She pointed to a bloody rock on the ground.

"Yeah I got it." He snapped pictures of it then looked around the office. "Look at all that blood spatter."

"Yeah," Catherine squatted down too. "Blows to the head are up close and personal."

"A lot of passion around this one." Simone looked down at the man. "He looks like a dick. Just saying. Doesn't justify killing him, though."

"Suspect?" Catherine asked the Detective for the murder.

"Kate Armstrong, founder of the school. She called 911 herself. She says he attacked her. She's in the hallway." He responded. Catherine went out to interview her, Simone followed quickly.

"Ms. Armstrong?" Catherine asked the crying woman. "Care to explain what happened?"

"He wouldn't let go of me." She didn't meet either woman's eyes. "He just kept pawing, He was so close I could smell his aftershave. I mean, It's all a blur. I grabbed the closest thing I could and I hit him with it."

"A rock?" Simone asked. She was standing a little farther away so that Kate didn't feel crowded. She could tell this was going to get interesting. She was going to have to be prepared for her own case, but she'd help Nick and Catherine in any way she could because she was involved now.

"I don't know what it was. I didn't care. I just wanted him off of me." Kate shook her head.

"How many times did you hit him?" Catherine asked.

"Once."

"Ms. Armstrong," Catherine moved a bit to the side. Simones phone rang and she excused herself. Nick poked his head out of the crime scene room and looked at her with raised eyebrows. She shook her head at him, mouthing 'Grissom'. Nick nodded and went back to work.

"Simone, Greg said you had test results. Said you wouldn't tell him." He didn't seem mad in the slightest.

"Yeah. There was just enough DNA to tell us the name of the victim. James Kerney. Aged thirty two. And Some of the trace you found with the skull, Peyote."

"What is a Native American drug doing with our victim?"

"I'm not sure, but I had another look at the skull. There are different markings that trace to several desert dwelling species. It seems a full grown coyote did most of the damage. Male, but with a very malformed jaw. Very unusual bite formations."

"Thank you, Simone. Oh, and where are you? Greg wants to know."

"I'm with Nick and Catherine. Tell Greg little baby Simmy will be home soon."

"I will." Grissom hung up. Simone walked over to where Nick and Catherine were standing. "She's lying."

"She was heavy on BS. Zippo on truth." Catherine agreed.

"Well ladies, you don't seem to bummed about that."

"Hell no! We're stoked, Stokes." Simone's small joke was rewarded with a grin.

"We drew the best case, Nicky. I can feel it."

"Well then there's only one thing left to do."

"String it."

"String it." Nick agreed. Which is how Simone assumed she got pulled into helping Nick string up the room, measuring the blood spatter's distance from the blood pool left behind from the body.

They didn't talk until Nick was finished, staning next to Simone and talking into a tape recorder.

"Blood spatter on Northwest wall. Blood sprays Northeast corner above...Um." He paused, as the door opened.

"Wow," Catherine gasped as she entered. "Now there's a look I love to see. Confusion."

"Oh, he's not confused. 'X' Marks the spot. A blow here, here, and here. The Dean recieved the majority of blows when he was on the ground." Simone motioned to the may overlapping X's over the blood pool.

"Cast off from the weapon on the window," Catherine observed. Simone made a noise of agreement.

"And a void against the back wall."

"Blood spatter has a void instead of one continous line of spray." Nick continued.

"Some thing or someone stood between the blood spatter and the wall." Catherine started to pick up on their thoughts.

"Which means the assailent was standing here," Nick pointed to where he was standing. "And there was sombody else in this room."

"I told you she was lying." Simone shrugged.

The three went off to find the Detective assigned to the case. When they were walking with Kate Armstrong, Nick made sure to keep himself between Kate and Simone. Kate had already killed once there was no saying she wouldn't do it again.

"Okay, there was someone else in the room with me." Kate rolled her eyes.

"A name would be nice." The Detective told her.

"She's a friend of mine on the faculty. She had nothing to do with this."

"Blood evidence says otherwise." Catherine replied casually.

"Look, Homicide will give us her name, if you won't. They are detectives." Nick wraped a secure arm around Simone's shoulders.

"And your school's not that big." Simone distracted herself with reciting the table of elements so she wouldn't swoon or start giggling like an idiot.

"Julia Eastman." Kate sighed. "But she was doing me a favor. She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time." She walked quicker, and Catherine stopped, efectively stopping Nick and Simone too.

"Let's get Eastman in the interrigation room." Simone grinned.


	3. Chapter 3

"Simone!" Simone spun on her heel to face Grissom. She was on her way to the interrogation room. "Help them later get back to your own case!"

"Have you found out who supplied Kerney with the Peyote?" Simone leaned against the wall. Grissom shook his head. Simone grinned. "Talk to his girlfriend. She lives about three blocks from where we picked up the skull. Then come back and tell me. In the mean time," She pointed behind her. "I'll be in here!" She grinned and slipped into the room.

Julia was talking.

"We came up with a plan that the next time Woods hit on her she'd have a witness. You know, because of the harassment."

"Where were you standing when you were playing witness?" Catherine asked. Nick was playing the role of big, tough, silent cop, which made Simone want to laugh.

She looked up and to her right. Classic sign she was lying.

"You're sure?" She asked. Julia looked up at Simone and nodded.

"Yeah." Nick came to stand at Simone's side, still playing tough cop.

"We're forensic scientists, Julia. The blood-or bones, in Simone's case-Talk to us." Julia didn't look like she got where Nick was going with this. "People exaggerate or forget. Blood's like my grandfather. Never lies." He smiled at Simone.

He opened up the Computer on the table.

"Nick reinacted the crime using blood spatter." Catherine told Julia.

"No I just strung it. But thank you anyway." He turned back to the computer again. "No, Simone does the Geometry." He pressed a button on the computer.

"You factor in the location of the body in relation to the blood on the wall in order to recreate the event. Simple, Really, with a few computer geeks and a science and math nerd."

Nick laughed at her statement.

"Each hit that drew blood gets it's own uniqe color as he fell." They watched what Simone was saying on the computer as she was saying it. "Dean Woods was not in a standing position when he was killed. He was on the floor."

"So how could your friend Kate wrestle him to the ground and keep him there while she bludgened him to death? Without help?" Nick asked.

"I don't know," Julia looked right into his eyes. Nick rolled his own.

"Hmm."

"Can we take a break?" Julie asked Simone. She turned to Catherine. "I need a break."

"Sure," Catherine nodded. Simone and Nick exchanged grins. Simone's phone rang and Nick's smile dropped. He grabbed it out of her pocket and Answered it.

"Hello? Grissom! Yeah she's here. Why am I answering her phone? No reason. Here," He handed Simone her phone and put his hand over his eyes.

"Why is he answering my phone? Oh because he's an idiot with the heart of a lion." Simone grinned at him. "Talk to the girlfriend?"

"Yes. She said he didn't do actual drugs."

"Cocain, Marijuana."

"Exactly. But the Peyote wasn't recreational. The Victim took part in the Native Indian rights."

"While high on drugs? Eh, who gave him the Peyote?" Simone walked out of the interrigation room. She ran into Greg in the halls and Grabbed his arm, pulling him along with her while putting Grissom on speaker. "Greg's here."

"A Springs artist by the name of Anton Tods."

"Interview him?"

"Yes. He didn't deny having done Peyote on several different occasions."

"Is he Native American?" Greg asked. The arrived in his office and crashed on Simone's futon in the corner. They often spent nights in the office.

"No."

"Peyote is only legal if you're a member of a Native American church. Which means Mr. Tods and Mr. Kerney got the drugs illegaly. Illegal drugs means drug dealers. You know how it goes." Simone lay back and Greg lay on his stomach, both listening intently.

"We thought of that too," Gil said. "But get this, Another suspect, Joseph, The girlfriend's neighbor, borrowed the artist's humvee to look for Peyote. We went to talk to him, beaten to a bloody pulp outside of his trailer."

"Geez," Simone puffed out a little air.

"Exactly. So I want you to stay with Nick and Catherine on their case, this is getting a little much for you to be out with us."

"Alright, but keep me posted, yeah?"

"Yeah." Grissom hung up. Simone kissed Greg on the cheek and hauled herself up.

"I'll see you at home?"

"Uh-Huh. It's late. Try to get some sleep."

"Bye G."

"Later." He opened his lab door for her. She kissed his cheek and wlaked out. She caught up with Nick and Catherine at the front door.

"So here's what we got on our dead Dean. Blood splatter. Blood cast-off on the walls. Kate Armstrong's confession, her clothes, three void areas and that's pretty much it." Catherine listed off as Nick held the door open for the two women.

"It's not enough. It's not ENOUGH. What's the one thing we're missing?"

Simone stopped and hit Nick lightly in the arm. "That's it!"

"What's it?" He asked.

"What's the ONE thing we're missing?" She repeated.

"The Blood-"

"On Julia's clothes!" Catherine cut Nick off. They turned around and walked right back in, going into the interrigation room. Simone didn't bother going in. She knew people like Julia. Disgusted by blood.

Nick walked out again and pulled Simone with him, down to Evidence. They slipped gloves on as Catherine walked in. They pulled out the Dean's shirt. Catherine pulled translucent paper over the shirt and they all looked down at the void in the blood. It was shaped like a handprint.

"Ain't that a beaute?" Simone grinned.

"You don't have to know every star to draw a constillation." Nick placed his hand over the paper on the void and took a sharpie, drawing what he could. "And fill in...the rest. Woah. Look at that last finger there."

"Freaky," Simone mumbled.

"Talk about your uniqe attributes," Catherine grinned at the two. "What do you think, Bandage?"

"We'll have to ask our ladies, but I'll tell you one thing."

"Sombody's playing through the pain." Simone finished for Nick. They all agreed to go home and get some sleep before confronting the women. It was then then that they sat in the interrigation room once more.

"Julia, make a fist with your right hand, will you please?" Catherine requested. Julia looked from Catherine to Simone and Nick, who were sharing a chair, each having half. "But one at a time."

Julia could close all her fingers except her pinky.

"I sprained it during tennis." Was her excuse.

"Heals a lot faster when you wear one of these," Nick tossed a metal splint on the table.

Julia put her hand to her mouth. Catherine pulled the Dean's shirt up onto the Table.

"Dean Woods' shirt." She Explained. "Now, remember how we said blood tells us everything?" Julia nodded. "Well so does the absence of blood." She put the splint on and placed it over the void. It was a perfect match.

"Oh, my God." Kate gasped quietly. Simone stood from the chair so Nick could look intimidating without having to worry about her falling.

"You held him down," He looked at Julia. "While she killed him." He nodded to Kate.

"All because he was handsy?" Simone asked. "I have a guy like that. He ain't dead."

Nick cleared his throat.

"Seems a little severe." Catherine told them.

"We're going to place you under arrest for murder." The Detective opened the door. "Anything you wanna say?"

The women stood, holding hands before the uniforms cuffed them.

"No, no," Catherine sighed. "This isn't over."

"For all forensic purposes, it is over," Nick stood. "They're going to eat bread and bang a metal cup against some bars. That's it. It's over for us."

"We still don't know why!" Catherine argued.

"It's not our job to know why. It's our job to know how. You heard Grissom. The more the why the less the how the less the how, the more the why." Simone replied easily. "But Grissom's not always right. I tend to think for myself. It helps with...stuff."

Catherine grinned. "Okay Detective, we got some more work to do."

It only took about an hour.

"Did some homework on Kate." He handed the folder to Simone, who handed it to Catherine. "Financial records for the last year. Then some checks from Kate Armstrong to Vernon Woods. Over the last year."

"5,000 Dollars," Catherine mused. "Another for 5,000. 3,000 dollars. Memo. Loans..." She took a deep breath. "I don't think so."

"I think she was paying him off for something." Simone mumbled quietly. This is what got them in the interrigation room again. Well, behind the glass, but still.


	4. Chapter 4

"See, this is where Grissom differs from me and Simone." Catherine told Nick. "Forensics is more than just science."

"Human behavior. Inconsistancies with human behavior. How is crucially important. But so is why." Simone sighed quietly.

And they watched it unfold before them. Turns out, Julia and Kate were lovers, and the Dean was going to lie about it. Nick made a face at the concept of lesbians, and Simone smacked his arm. He grinned down sheepishly and shrugged.

"Oh shut up," Simone mumbled.

"Well you got your why," Nick said. "Crime of passion."

"Told you." Simone nodded.

"But a bigger why. 'Why did it have to come down to this,'" Catherine sighed.

"Guess they didn't feel like they had a choice."

"Maybe they didn't. Loose loose situation." Catherine left without another word. Simone and Nick looked at eachother.

"Uh. You and Greg wanna grab dinner?"

"Sure, Nick," Simone smiled at him. He let her lead the way to her brothers office and she knocked loudly on his door. She didn't bother to wait for his reply, knowing he'd be listening to his music. She tapped lightly on his head. Greg jumped and faced her. A wide grin spread on his face. "Dinner. You coming?"

"Do I get a ride home?"

"I walked to work today." She crossed her arms.

"Nick?"

"Sure I'll give ya'll a ride home. It was my offer."

"See," Greg turned back to his sister. "Perfect gentleman."

"Just get your shit," Simone smiled at him.

Nick took them to a local diner. It was down the block from where Raymond lived, and just her luck, he was there. Simone and Greg cast eachother horrified looks. When they sat, Simone sat next to Nick and texted him so she wouldn't have to talk aloud.

S- Raymond's here.

N-That creep?

N-Where?

S- He's coming over, you remember what you told him. Act the Part, Tex.

They both slipped into the role of boyfriend and girlfriend. Nick's arm fell onto Simone's shoulders and Simone leaned her weight on his side.

"Hey, Greg. Simone, love." He glared at Nick. "You must be-"

"Nick. Stokes." As he reached foreward to shake Raymond's hand, he made sure his badge and gun were visible.

"Mind if I join?" Raymond sat down without an answer.

"Oh, sure Why not?" Greg rolled his eyes. Nick noticed that while they were waiting for their drinks- Two sprites for the siblings, Coffee for Nick and Beer for Raymond- that Simone pulled her legs up and crossed them on the booth. He pulled her closer as he figured footsie had come into play.

"So, Raymond. What do you do for a living?" Nick asked. He heard Simone groan softly. She'd heard this whole conversation before.

"I own a Casino."

"Liar," Greg snorted. "You work in one, Bell-boy. You only get payed a lot because your mother loves you enough to pull strings."

Raymond glared at Greg.

"So babe," Nick turned to Simone with a joking grin on his face. "What happened with that Skull on the sheriff's portch?"

"Girlfriend did it. Warrick texted and told me. He didn't pay enough attention to her. So she shot him in the back of the neck, execution style, and then them coyotes got 'im, Tex."

Nick smirked at his new nickname. Their drinks came, and Greg and Simone immediately grabbed the other's drink and took a huge sip before taking their own.

"I still find that gross," Nick laughed.

"Hey, old habits die hard, Nick!" Greg smiled. They'd done that since he was six and she was four. They'd wanted to know what the other's drink tasted like. Now they alway's did it.

"EW!" Ramond had a look of disgust and the siblings rolled their eyes.

"What?" Simon lay her head on Nick's shoulder to sell the act.

"That is completely unsanitary!"

"Does it matter? We're two years apart. Rediculously close."

"And whatever sickness one of us has, we live together, the other will catch it anyway."

"You know, they have a point." Nick smirked. "And the rest of us spend so much time together, we'll probably catch it too. Hey, joint funeral!" Nick joked.

"Uh," Sara walked up to the table, squeezing in next to Simone. "Don't remind me. I just spent the day solving the worst case ever."

Okay, so the only reason she didn't really like Sara at first was because of how much she flirted with Nick. There was nothing actually wrong with her.

"What can I get you?" The Waitress asked.

Simone raised her hand.

"I'll have the Texas Breakfast Casserole. Extra mushrooms."

"Same," Nick agreed. "I'll make a Texan out of you yet, baby-doll."

Simone got a text from Sara a few seconds later.

S- Baby-doll?

S- Raymond's a creep. He keeps trying to get with me. In the car yesterday, Nick grabbed the phone after Raymond's third try calling me and told him to back off. I guess he asked who Nick was because he said "I'm her boyfriend."

S-I will cuff this man.

S-Oh, wow Sara. Nick almost said the same thing.

"Did he really?" Sara grinned. Simone broke from Nick's grip to start gossiping with Sara. After a while, the food came and Nick noticed a slightly animalistic look creep into Raymond's eyes as he looked at Simone. Nick then realized they weren't being affectionate enough. Great.

"Babe," Nick couldn't believe he was going to do this. Greg was going to kill him.

Simone turned and looked at him cautiously. He grabbed her by the back of the neck and kissed her. Not exactly how either of them pictured their first kiss, but it would have to do. Both Nick and Simone saw Greg and Raymond stiffen. Greg chilled out after a second though. Sara just chuckled. Raymond scoffed.

"Get a room."

Simone sighed and pulled away.

"Go home, Raymond." She placed her head on Nick's solid forearm. Greg kicked her under the table and she met his eyes. Sara and Nick were already used to this, watching their silent sibling speak amused them. It just freaked Raymond out. After a few seconds, Greg shrugged and slumped happily in his seat like the child he was at heart. Now Nick kissed Simone's temple every so often and watched the rage slip into Raymond's eyes every time.

"Okay," Greg stood. "I think it's time to go. Ray, thanks for dinner. Nick let's go you're our ride home. Sara see you tomorrow?"

Sara and Nick stood in unison with Simone and they all left Raymond with the check.

"Yep." Sara got into her car and drove off with a wave.

"Greg, get in the back," Nick ordered. "The little lady gets shotgun."

"Hehehe." Simone laughed at her brothers expense.

Nick dropped them off home and Simone went down into her basement bedroom. It was actually a rather attractive bedroom. It had a built in bathroom and a whole seperate room to do her makeup. Her bedspread was floral, but black and white, rather then the pink they had also seen at the local Target. She changed into her pj's quickly and lay down.

Greg woke her up around two in the afternoon, complaining that there was a package for her and that it was probably the MAC cosmetics she'd ordered. Or her Lush soaps or something. She groaned angrily and told him to just sign for the damn package because he used the soap anyway. He shoved her lightly but left it alone. Simone slept for around another hour before waking up.

Greg was passed out on the couch when she got up the stairs. The package was on the table and opened it, grinning happily when she saw the MAC logo on the side. Finally. She didn't open it, she just put it down in her room and sat on her brothers stomach so she could watch TV. He didn't even wake up. He just groaned and kept snoring.


	5. Chapter 5

A week passed before Simone was called in again. She was currently crawling under a house to get to where it seemed there were fingers sticking out of a wall.

"Okay," Nick's accented voice flowed through her ear piece. "I'm ready up here."

"Give me a second," She crawled to the wall. "Okay."

"Can you confirm it's human?"

"Meta-carpal phalanges. No doubt. Human," She began crawling back up and took a deep breath once she was out of the cramped space. She sat in between Grissom and Nick.

"Grissom, there's got to be an easier way to do this," Nick complained. He looked from Grissom to Simone for any indication that he wouldn't have to start hacking at the wall with a pick ax.

"When a body decomposes in concrete, it leaves an air pocket. Kind of like it's vacuum sealed." Simone told him.

"If we do this right, it should open like a jar of pickles." Grissom added.

"I love pickles," Simone smiled.

They chipped away concrete until the wall opened up and the skeleton was revealed.

"Ten bucks says the owner sells the house." Nick betted, gazing at it in mild disgust.

"By law she has to disclose everything." Grissom informed. "Three bedrooms two baths..."

"And a skeleton. I'd buy that house. But that's just me." Simone shrugged.

"I'd buy it with you as long as you keep you creepy affiliation for bones away from the bedroom."

"Nick don't even front! You know you love it."

"I never said any such thing, Baby,"

"Is this important, you two? The flirting? Cuz I think this guy has a spot on our attentions list that's a bit higher," Grissom scolded. They were, after all, on the Job. He didn't really care what they did, as long as it wasn't getting in the way of their work.

"Sorry," Simone laughed. Nick smiled and bumped hips against her. Back at the crime lab, Simone and Nick were changing out of their field clothes. Simone was covered in what could possibly be evidence so she put her suit in a brown paper bag to give to Greg or someone else later. Grissom was off giving cases to everyone else.

They were both turned away from each other so they wouldn't look. That didn't mean they weren't tempted. They both turned at the same time and Nick chuckled.

"Am I sensinng a pattern here?" Simone was wearing all red, except for the bracelets on her left wrist, which were an assortment of colors, and the silver skull necklace around her neck. In fact, all her jewlery involved skulls. He chuckled again. "Let's go, Sims. We've got a something-Doe to identify."

Nick and Simone met up with Grissom outside the doors to autopsy.

"Female," Simone ran her gloved fingers over the bones, counting the ribs, searching for COD. "Late teens to early twenties."

"Wait, wait, wait. Female?" Nick paused Simone in her exploration.

Grissom looked up at him with a face like 'You're practically dating this girl, her brother is your best friend, and you don't know why it's female?' Either that or 'Nick you're an idiot.'

Simone prefered the first one. It made her laugh.

"It's all in the hips," Simoned held both her hands over the pelvic bone. "The male pelvic bone isn't as wide as the females. Know why?"

"Please don't say it. I've seen that video. I was scared for life. Don't say-"

"Women have babies!"

"Damn you!"

"I can give you a better anatomy lesson later, Nicky."

Nick chuckled.

"Anyway." He began. "I figure she was killed before her cement bath."

"How do you figure?" Grissom asked.

"She was stabbed." Simone pointed at the markings on the bones. "At least a dozen times."

"With a screwdriver or something. Like a spike."

"No," She shook her head at him. Grissom watched, slightly proud as they worked it out together, not really needing his help. "The markings on her ribs are unusual. Curved." She took a closer look. "With a serrated edge. Like...crockodile teeth. Whatever killed this girl was not a traditional weapon."

"Stabbings are personal. She knew her attacker." Nick said.

"As is the rule."

Grissom put his hand on top of the skull and stared at it.

"Who are you?"

Nick pulled Simone out, and they discarded their scrubs and gloves in the appropriate places before they went into the staff room. Simone took a cup of her brothers special coffee, and Nick took the slop that the rest of the CSI's drank.

"Had a problem with Raymond lately?"

"Actually, no. He called the first three days but I never answered. He left this message though. It really kind of creeped me out."

Nick leaned towards her.

"What did he say?"

"It's not a problem Nick."

"Alright. But the minute it does, you find me and I'll take care of it, okay?"

"Okay."

They finished their coffee in silence and walked down to the evidence locker. Grissom was examining a slab of concrete.

"You brought the foundation of the house to the lab." Nick asked, unbelieving.

Simone scoffed.

"It's a six by three foot section." Grissom defended himself. "When the cement dried it left a partial impression on our jane doe. Find anything out about the house?"

"Yeah," Nick held up papers he'd stopped to get on the way down here. "Summercliff was built five years ago on nothing but desert."

"Which explains why the body was so decicated." Simone explained. She put her hands behind her back and followed Grissom on his trek around the slab.

"House was sold subsequent to the completion."

"Home owner is not a suspect."

"We're running a missing person's check." Nick reached forward to touch the imprint. Grissom cleared his throat and Nick looked up at the stern glare he was recieving. He smiled and pulled back.

"It's weird." The boys looked up at Simone. "If it weren't for a leaky pipe, she may have been down there forever."

"I think our killer was counting on that." Nick replied softly. Grissom looked back and forth between the two. Simone went up to Grissom's office and waited up there. She pulled his tarantula out of it's case out of pure boredom and began playing with it.

A knock sounded on the door.

"Gil Grissom?" Simone looked up at the blonde woman. "Or should I call you spider-woman?"

"Either is fine. But I'm Simone. I'm Grissom's-"

"Forensic Anthropologist. Yes, He mentioned you."

"Ms. Miller." Grissom walked in on Terri Miller gently taking the tarantula from Simone's hand. "I need you to make me a face." He dragged her out, handing the tarantula back to Simone. Simone sat and played with the large arachnid for a few more minuets before going off to find Greg. She layed on her futon as she watched him work. She managed to fall asleep, curled up on the futon.

When she woke up, Greg's lab coat was around her shoulders and her phone was vibrating in her pocket. She yawned as she opened it to see a text from Nick.

N-Staff lounge.

She stood and rushed to the room, taking note that it was morning and they were probably working a double today.

"As we first reported yesterday the remains of a caucasion female were unearthed in Summercliff." The reporter was saying. Simone accepted a cup of coffee from Nick as they all watched the news cast. "The five foot ten inch woman was aproximatly twenty years old." Nick also handed Grissom a coffee. "Authoraties are asking for you help with identifying this woman. If you have any knowledge, please call the Las Vegas PD hotline."

Catherine had walked in at the end of the report.

"Hotlines," She remarked. "Hit or miss."

"I don't know." Grissom shrugged. Both he and Catherine took notice of Nick and Simone subconciously moving their chairs closer to each other. "My experience; people usually remember a beautiful woman."

Catherine gave Grissom a stare.

"Uh, Nick," Simone looked up at the handsome Texan. "W-Weren't you going to go help me with that...Something?"

"Wha-" Nick looked at his higher authorities. "Yeah! Yeah, let's go then, Sims," Nick took her by the hand and led her out. She changed their direction before they got too far, and walked to the mourge. She wanted another look at that skeleton.

Doc Robins had been examining it too.

"Doc," Simone nodded in greeting to the older doctor. She noticed something on the back of the head. "How'd I miss THAT?"

"Simone." He nodded back. He handed her two sets of gloves and she passed one off to Nick. "I was just about to call you. I sent David up to get Grissom." At that moment, Grissom walked into the room. "Ah yes."

"Why is Simone looking at the Skull?"

"Big gash!" Simone looked up at him wide eyed, before literally bashing the side of her head into Nick's bicep. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She ran her fingers along the wound. "GAH! I'm a failure!"

Doc Robins smiled at her antics, and Nick's worried face as she continued to bash her own head in with his arm.

"Simone, slow down, and explain."

"There's a hair line fracture on the posterior skull." She grabbed the light in Doc Robins' hand. "I missed it the first time but it screams blunt force trauma. Which I'm sure hurt. Like a bitch. GAH! STUPID STUP-" Nick grabbed Simone's head gently between his hands and told her carefully to stop, that she would eventually end up actually hurting herself, and that he did not really want to be a suicide weapon.

Simone burst out laughing. Grissom stared her down until she composed herself.

"Also," Doc continued, taking the flashlight. "As you all know the middle ear has three bones. They're dusted with sodium, and lodged against the malius I found a tiny ball of earwax." Simone then began beating her head against Nick's chest, which he had been holding her against to keep her from beating her head in with his arms.

"Seriously, if you don't stop I'm putting you on suicide watch. I'll tie you too your bed and sit in a chair across from you and I won't let you go!"

"Kinky." Simone smirked.


	6. Chapter 6

"You didn't let me finish before you went on describing future sexual encounters. Pay attention. The earwax had tiny flecks of sand." Doc Robins turned away from Nick and Simone's cuteness.

"Salt and sand?" Grissom took his glasses off. "Killed at the beach?"

"Not ruling it out." Nick suddenly got a call and he stepped out of the room to talk.

"I'm an idiot." Simone sighed.

"Simone Sanders if you don't stop that right now I may actually think of letting Nick tie you to that bed." Grissom scolded half heartedly.

"Oh yeah!" Nick walked in to hear the tail end of that conversation. "Grissom. Call lines Just came back. Five people just identified the same woman. Faye Green. And her mother just confirmed."

Grissom sighed. "Get some trace evidence of that sand and get it to your brother, Simone."

Simone did just that, and they hovered over Greg as he looked at it.

"How many grains of sand in the ocean?"

"I don't care about the ocean. Just the sand in my skeleton." Nick snapped. He wasn't in the mood, what with Simone beating herself up. "Can you pinpoint a beach?"

"I don't know. May require some field research." He looked up at Nick. "Think Grissom will send me to Hawaii?"

Nick looked up and saw Grissom approaching.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"Ask me what?"

"Nothing. I was just telling them about your sand. Well...Not sand." Greg was quick to panic.

"My guess it's not the natural kind."

"Right, take a look." Grissom followed Greg's request and looked into the Microscope. "Now if this were natural sand the surface would be smooth. But it's not. This looks like Fremont Street on a Saturday night."

Nick looked to Simone for a translation for her brother's words.

"Rough."

"Ahh." Nick nodded. Greg and Simone folded their arms behind their backs and assumed identical positions, as they usually did when one of them was giving a presentation when the other was in the room. Being almost as close as twins, they could often follow each others thoughts and present together. Even with Simone and her bones. If Greg was there durning a 'Bonetopsy', he could follow her train of thought perfectly. "Is it sediment or what."

"Nahh," Simone scrunched up her nose and shook her head.

"Yeah, no. I examined the mineral content it's feldspar."

"And quartz."

"Crushed gray sandstone. Man-made."

"In a rock crusher."

The high-fived eachother with grins on their faces.

"Not to burst the 'Freaky twin thing' bubble, but...what does that mean?" Nick asked.

"It means that she wasn't killed in Hawaii." Grissom smirked. Greg got an 'Oh, shit' look on his face, and Nick and Simone smirked at him. "And-"

"We have no idea," Simone finished Grissom's thought. Nick chuckled and wrapped an arm around both of their shoulders. Yelling suddenly attracted all of their attention. Warrick was having a fight. Simone didn't think twice before going off to help her friends.

"Woah, woah, Guys!" Simone placed herself between Warrick and the man coming at him.

"Wow," Warrick continued to provoke him, despite Brass pulling the man away. "Mr. Psycho! You don't deserve a badge." The man charged again, knocking Simone into Warrick, who caught her in his arms. Nick attempted to advance forward, but Grissom got there first, forcing the still attacking man, whom Simone vaguely recognized as part of Sara and Warrick's investigation, away from his team members.

"CUT IT OUT!" He pushed him back towards Brass, who was actually a little pissed himself that Simone had gotten caught in the middle. "Not in my lab, Pal."

"Scientists!" The man exclaimed. "I bet you've never even drawn your weapons!"

"I hope I never have to. Nick, walk this guy out the door." Grissom ordered.

Nick glared feircely at the man.

"Gladly." He began walking him out with Brass. "Let me tell ya, She's hurt and I'm coming after you. Let's go!" He shoved the guy forward.

"Sara,"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, come on Warrick." She tugged gently on Warrick's arm to get him moving again. Warrick sat Simone back on her feet and walked away after giving her a once over. She leaned against the wall to wait for Nick to collect her. She winced at a pain in her ankle and sank to the ground. It was a simple sprain.

"This is all your fault, Gil!" Brass tried to whisper but his anger wouldn't allow it. "You've got your nose so far down a microscope you have no idea what your people are doing."

"Yeah I know one thing. My guys will not bend and they will not be intimidated." Grissom was eaqually angry.

"Hey, I sat in your chair. Your guys have one job." Simone couldn't believe this was Brass speaking. "Find the evidence. So where the hell's the missing bullet?" He stormed off.

Grissom sighed and put his head in his hand, rubbing his forhead. Then he seemed to remember that Simone hadn't left yet.

"Hurt?"

"Simple sprain. I heal fast. An ace bandage and a couple good hours as using Nick as a crutch, and I should be good." Grissom nodded and helped her up. He sat her on his desk and went to fetch Nick.

Nick then wrapped the bandage around her ankle with delicate care. Then he gently massaged the muscle around her ankle.

"We're going to go arter the boyfriend."

"Okay," Simone tried to ease herself off the desk, but Nick caught her and carried her to Greg's lab bridal style.

"You, just stay and help Greg with whatever tests he needs. Okay?"

"But Nick!"

"No but's, Darlin' I don't want you more hurt than you already are." He sat her down on a stool and kissed her forhead. "Stay safe, yeah?"

"Yeah." She sighed. Greg wasn't even in the office. He walked in a few minutes later with a stary blue tea cup. He said nothing, sensing her particularly foul mood. Catherine walked in a few minutes after him for some results.

"So Greg, what did the rape kit say?"

"Uh, Simone,"

She looked up and grabbed a folder from somewhere under their shared organized mess.

"Nonoxidal thine(A/N: Boo Greg for talking so fast we can't understand what he's saying) Polyvynal alchohol, andddd-"

"Glyserine?"

"Yeah, Cath, how..?"

She held up a box.

"Contraceptive film. What're you drinking?" She pointed to Greg's cup.

"Cammomille."

"May I?"

"Sure," Greg nodded, confused.

"It melts with body heat, right?"

Catherine nodded.

"That's right."

"Yeah, I actually use those. It rather stimulating to have your partner put it on for you. Almost the same as a woman placing a condom on a man."

"TMI little sister. TMI." Greg found his cup snatched from him.

Catherine poured the tea out of the mug and into an empty beaker. Greg watched as she worked.

"So, you used to work at the French Palace?" He asked. Simone and Catherine exchanged glances and smirks. Simone was the only one Catherine talked to about it in detail. Other than Grissom, of course.

"That's right."

"Me and my friends used to go there. Payday Fridays."

"Uh-huh."

"Maybe I saw you perform."

"Brother dear, I doubt it." Simone smiled.

"Why?"

"You would remember." Catherine smirked. Greg looked utterly amazed.

"So this film. Simone you know the most about it, wow me with your facts."

"Well, It's kind of hard to detect because it dissolves with body heat. And you know, sex, it's a hot, hot, HAWT act." Simone chucked the box at Greg, who stuck his tounge out at her. Then he began reading.

"It says the film has to be inserted fifty minuets to three hours before sex." He paused, remembering what his sister had said. "Ugh Beeeearrr!"

"Teeeeeddyyyy!"

"I seriously love how you call each other Teddy and Bear. Anyway, that means that April Lewis inserted the film while she was still at work." They all stared at Catherine's expirimental melted-by-Greg's-tea film.

"But how could she have know to put the birth control in before she was raped?" Greg asked. Simone grinned.

"Exactly," Catherine's grin matched Simone's. She dropped the film back in the beaker of tea and walked away. Then Grissom Called her on her phone.

"They wouldn't let us process without a warrent."

"What was the house like?" She asked. Greg looked up at his sister as she slowly slid off the stool. He instantly jumped to help her.

"It was nice, I suppose. There were pictures of rock climbers all over. They had a fish tank."

Greg helped Simone into the morgue. Doc Robins smiled at her from his desk.

"Source of our fake sand?"

"Yep. Nick's just got the warrent, I'll call you after the bust."

"Alright." They hung up. "Thanks, Teddy." Greg nodded and kissed his sister on the cheek.

"Welcome, Bear."

Doc Robins waked over to Simone as she stared at the skeleton.

"We're both missing something this time, Doc." She sighed. She stared at the body until she suddenly gasped.

"ROCK CLIMBING!" She shifted through her memories until she found the specific image she wanted. A tool that helped you climb rocks. It was a curved kind of ax with a serrated edge. Exactly like what she said.

"OMG OMG OMG!" She hobbled out the door and over to her Denali. "OH EM GEE!"

Halfway there she called Grissom.

"What's his alibi?" She asked she was driving with the sirens on.

"Reno. Where are you?"

"On the way to the suspects house. Where's Nick, I can't hear him with you."

"That's because I left him at the house."

Simone pulled over onto the lawn on accident.

"Grissom, you know that gun you gave me in case of protection. And how you made me get that liscense. Just in case. And the badge?"

"Yeah?"

"Uh...I may need to use them." She pulled the gun and badge from her glove compartment.

"Why?"

"I-I think Nick's in trouble."

"Wow." He tapped on her window. "Me too."

"Griss. Let me go in first. I think I can get the gun away from her."

"Simone, no."

"Grissom." Her voice was stern. "I will not. Let Nick. Be hurt."

"I- alright. Let the records show you overpowered me and forced me to let you go first."

Simone smiled softly.

Walking into the house, she madesure that the gun wielding woman could see her come in.

"A dead body is so, so heavy."

She put her hands up.

"Mrs. Hendler. You killed Faye, right?"

"Yes. Yes!" She continued to advance on Nick with the gun. There were tears shining in his eyes, fearful for his life, and Simone's.

"Because you love your husband."

"Yes!"

"Can you stop and talk to me for a second please. I think you need to think of something before you think of shooting Nick, there."

The woman paused.

"I'm just going to step closer. My weapon isn't raised, so you're in no danger, alright?" God, she hoped this was working. She kept her tone of voice commanding, but also kept it at the kind of tone you can trust.

Nick wached Simone place her hand over the gun.

"Simone, Do-"

"Nick, shut the hell up."

Nick stared at her. She placed herself in the line of fire, gently pushing the gun downwards. He could hear her whisper something to the hysterical woman and the woman looked wide eyed at Simone. Then Simone was hugging Nick tightly, making all his fears go away. He wasn't exactly sure what had happend, but he assumed that Simone had convinced her to give up the gun, and Grissom had swooped in and cuffed Mrs. Hendler.

Nick sank to the floor as Simone held on to him. He took a few deep breaths.

"You okay, Nick?" Grissom asked. "Simone, he okay?"

"Yeah. He'll be fine." She felt him relax against her as she ran her hand through his hair and wiped his tears away. "Won't you?" She asked him softly, pressing her lips to his forhead.

"Sorry. I'm sorry I'm being such a baby."

"Hey, you Texan idiot." She helped him stand and walked him to her car with her arms wrapped around his waist. "You just got helled at gunpoint, sweetie. You better be such a baby." She stared up at him as he sat in the passenger seat of her car. "It shows humanity." She got in and drove off to the lab.

An hour later Grissom was looking for the two of them. They needed to fill out paperwork. He walked into Greg's lab. The genius was listening to his music via Ipod, rather than blasting it. Grissom pulled an earbud out.

"Have you seen-"

"Shh!" He pointed in the corner, and there, curled up with his arm around Simone, her hands on his chest, was Nick, both sound asleep. Grissom smiled and decided the paperwork could wait.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: "Helled at gunpoint?" WTF man, my keyboard has a mind of it's own!

Simone groaned as her phone rang, jolting her out of her sleep.

"Hello?"

She listened to the formal voice on the other end telling her that Grissom had asked for his entire graveyard shift to work this case, no exceptions. Simone told the uniform on the other end of the phone. She went up to Greg's room and yanked his covers off, telling him to get his ass to work before she poured his coffee down the drain.

The she changed, too tired to go all out, she just changed into a black shirt and jeans, having a feeling it was going to be a depressing, long, long shift.

After listening to what the Uni said on the phone, she decided to pull her hair back from her face so she wouldn't get blood on it.

When she got to the scene, Nick was mortified. He just knew Grissom would have her in the house. And He did. He ordered her to work with Catherine, gathering samples of the blood. Aside from the whole Forensic Anthropology thing, she also had a minor in crime scene investigation which led to being more than just a minor after working and living with Greg for as long as she has. You know; Forever?

So she collected samples of blood from every room, for hours and hours. She photographed everything before swabbing.

"This is a lot of blood," She sighed. Catherine hummed her agreement. They were in the boy's room. Simone watched them bring the body of the older boy out. They then moved back into the master bedroom. They'd already collected samples from there, so Catherine was letting Simone walk around the room, examining everything with her Anthropological eyes. Grissom walked in.

"We already sent the samples to the lab," Catherine told him.

"Okay." Simone wandered into the hallways, and Grissom glanced at her. "Simone you buying this cult thing?"

"The swirls?" She had her voice slightly rasied. "It's not Manson. It's an imitation."

"What do you think happened?" Simone popped her head back in to look at her boss.

"Killed the mother first. In her sleep, it was quick." She pointed at the bed. "It explains why the blood is only on the bed and the floor under it." She grabbed Grissom and Catherine and began walking with them. "The father woke up, and ran to protect his kids. The killer nicked him, here." She patted Grissom on his arm gently. "Then finished him off down the hall."

"Gave his life for the little girl." Catherine observed. "Should be more blood."

Simone nodded.

"It's a hole. We need to fill it."

"If we start from the inside and fan out, whoever's left at the scene..." Grissom trailed off.

"The first suspect." Catherine finished

"The teen daughter?" Grissom asked.

"She'd need help. Maybe a boyfriend?" Simone asked. Grissom crossed his arms and leaned towards the two of them.

"I wonder if they call him Buffalo?" Grissom ordered Simone to help Sara with the younger daughter. Simone agreed, as long as he kept her posted. Simone babysat to put herself through college, despite her and Greg coming from a money family. She knew she was good with kids, she figured why not put it to good use.

"Sara," She stopped the scientist from leaving the second she got there. "Grissom told me you have to stay here too."

"I don't get it. Catherine's the mom, why can't she do this?"

"He obviously trusts you more, alright, If he thought that Catherine would be the one he needed for this, he would have asked her. But he told you to come, he needs you." Simone easily got Sara ready to help.

The girl, Brenda, was drawing a picture of a house.

"That's very pretty," Sara said. The girl picked up her cran and scribbled on the house. Simone sighed. "Or not. Do you want to go for another ride?" She tossed all her coloring stuff and the picture on the ground. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Brenda," The little girl didn't meet Simone's eyes, but Simone knew she was listening. "You're a very brave little girl. I wish I was as brave as you." Brenda slipped her hand into Simone's as they walked to Sara's. They were at the lab, they were going to go to the hospital.

Simone was going to get into the front seat with Sara, but Brenda silently squeezed her hand.

"Okay," She sighed. She got into the back with the little girl.

After waiting about half an hour, the Doctor brought Brenda back out from examining her.

"Which one of you is the family services?" He asked of the three woman. The Service worker had gotten there about fifteen minutes ago.

"I am," She shook his hand. "Connie Bellview,"

"Brenda's fine." The Doctor watched the child crawl into Simone's lap and play with her teddy bear. "But I'd like another consult. The psychiatric resident. Should be here within an hour."

"Thanks, I'll take it from here," Connie attemted to pull Brenda off of Simone, but both the child and the Anthropologist tightend their grip.

"Wait," Sara also jumped to stop the woman. "What's the head exam for?"

"I said I'll take it from here." The woman stared Sara down, but Sara refused to budge.

"If there's any forensic information found durning this exam, I need to be there."

"It's already going to be tense." The worker stated.

Brenda got off of Simone's lap and went to stand by Sara's side. She tugged gently on her belt.

"Go back to your crime lab, I'll keep you posted."

Sara looked down at the little girl.

"It's okay, Brenda." She pulled the girl closer and Simone closed in on the other side, almost hiding the girl from view. "We're not leaving you."

But they did. Just not until Grissom called. And Simone refused to leave witout giving Brenda her phone number, and Greg's, in case she couldn't be reached. She always answered for Greg, no matter where she was.

"Hey," Sara pushed the door to the break room open. She sat down and Simone took her seat next to Nick, grabbing a bit of his food and giving a sheepish grin at his playful glare. "Heard you have a suspect."

"Yeah, about four," Warrick wibed his mouth on a napkin before standing. "Just on the tire prints alone. Homicide's grabbing 'em up."

"Let's talk about what else we have. Tina Collins' pyjama top from the murder scene? Without a drop of blood on it." Grissom said.

"Wow, how do you explain that?" Simone tugged on the CSI shirt she was wearing. "Cuz I have blood all over my shirt and I didn't touch the bodies."

"We're about to go ask her," Catherine told her. "Nick, what did you find out about that stuff that you collected at the back of the house?"

"The bidi? DNA's still processing, but Tina said nobody in the family smoked."

"So a non-family member was out there." Sara said.

"Bidi, Bidi? I thought you found a cigarette and a match behind the house." Grissom gave Nick a weird look.

Simone siged with a grin on her face.

"It's just like a Cigarette." Nick was smiling too. Warrick was shaking his head.

"Kids smoke them, they think there's less Carbon Monoxide." Sara explained.

"What did you too find out about the psych exam on the little girl?"

"The shrink says she's in a catatonic state due to trauma."

"PSH, I could have told you that." Simone scoffed. Catherine cast a knowing look in her direction.

"But she did respond to the name Buffalo." Sara finished.

"Respond how?"

"Uh," Simone raised her hand and ly her head against Nicks arm. "She flipped out."

"And...What are the two of you doing about it now."

"Going back to the girl. We left her in the car." Sara said. Grissom and Catherine stared at her, then at Simone, amazed that she'd let Sara do that. In Vegas of all places. Simone shrugged.

"The windows are cracked."

Grissom's jaw dropped.

"Jesus guys, give us some credit." Simone grinned and stood, kissing Warrick Grissom and Nick on their cheeks, in that order. "She's at the hospital. With that God aweful Service worker. She's a bitch. Like seriously five minutes into a conversation and I wanted to kill her, Ugh." Simone left the room without another word, shaking her head. Sara also left, and Warrick began laughing at how they'd gotten the drop on Grissom and Catherine. Nick smiled too.

Grissom called them back after a while, and they listened to the suspect take a polygraph. Nick watched Simone through it and noticed her flinching at most of the questions and the answeres the suspect gave. Brass held out the results.

"He was telling the truth on everything except the last question." Simone said.

Brass looked at her.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"His facial expression. It was different when he answered the last question."

"That he killed them so they could be together?" Catherine asked. She nodded. "Why?"

"Well we got them both, I don't really care about the why." Nick said. Simone kicked his shin lightly.

"I'm with you there," Simone then punched Warrick in the side.

"I do," She and Grissom said at the same time. The looked at each other.

"I don't like holes." Grissom said.

"What are they hiding?" Simone wondered out loud.

She and Sara went to the hospital and sat with Brenda while Grissom did his research. Raymond began calling Simone again and she groaned.

"Raymond?" Sara asked. Simone nodded. Then Sara's phone rang and she laughed.

"Sidle...Yeah?...There were no outward signs, why? You're the boss." She hung up. "Brenda, we're going to take some pictures, okay?"

The little girl looked to Simone for comformation and Simone, though not knowing anything, nodded.

"UV?" She whispered as Brenda changed into a hospital gown. Sara nodded. "Grissom thinks sexual abuse went on?" Sara nodded again.

Sara set Brenda up on an examination table and Simone shut off the lights.

"This," Sara held up the camera. "Is a very special camera. It takes a picure deep under your skin, so we can see things we can't normally see. How about we take a picture of Simone first?" Sara took a picture of Simone's arms. "See? It's okay," Sara grinned. She then pulled down Brenda's top a little, and put the rular up. "Ready?"

Brenda nodded, and Sara started taking pictures.

Simone sighed when it was over. She knew that Sara was going to develop all the pictures. She knew what they'd find on the pictures of her arms. She hadn't exactly been truthful with Nick when she said she wasn't having problems with Raymond. But she wanted to tell Nick first, before she explained to everyone else.

"Simone?" She looked up at Grissom and he was holding a particular photo in his hands. Yeah, she knew what he'd fined.

"I-I'll tell you later, Grissom. I kinda want to tell Tex first, okay? After the case, I promise." Silence passed between the two of them. "Uh- uh the abuse?"

"Someone was all over that kid. Bruises everywhere. Here." He handed her the picture of her arms. "For when you show Nick." Simone nodded. Grissom walked out but paused at the door.

"Go tell him now."

Simone stood and told Sara she was leaving. The other woman nodded in understanding. Simone found Nick sitting on the bench in the locker rooms. She purposely left the picture next to him and went to change. She heard him pause and pick up the picture.

"Darlin' I know these arms anywhere. What happened?" He stood and stopped what she was doing, which was putting her jacket on.

"Raymond." She shrugged him off to finish putting her jacket on. Then she faced him. "He came over a few days ago. Grabbed me cuz I was alone without Greg for once. He didn't want to go to Mandalay Bay and go to Lush with me." Simone looked away from Nick and he carefully put his hands over her arms. "Said he was getting suspicious that I wasn't dating you because you're never around. Oh, and then there's this." She pulled out her phone and played the message.

"You Bitch!" Raymond's voice was angry and undoubtedly drunk. "You Fucking cheated on me! With a hick no less!" He hic-upped. "I'm going to get you and rape you if you don't do it willingly you hear me? I fucking love you so much and one day you'll see that!" The rest of his words were angry jumbled up sounds that made no sense.

"Okay. I've had enough of him."

"Who?" Grissom walked in at this moment. Nick looked at his boss and gave him Simone's phone. Grissom listened to the message as he put his jacket on. "I'll make sure to write up a restraining order. For now, Nick you go home with her and Greg, stay till next shift. And he's probably got eyes on Simone so sleep in her bed with her."

Catherine came in and hurried herself along, casting a 'bye guys' over her shoulder when she left. Nick was sitting on the bench again, as Simone massaged his hand gently. She put ice on it.

"Don't worry, Simone. And Nick your hand will be back to normal in twently four hours." He walked out.

"Normal will be nice," Nick sighed. Simone and Nick drove home seperately, but he followed her and Greg. Greg was complaining about how they didn't even need him that day, so why he needed to get up at that time on his night off was beside him. Simone just replied Grissom said team. Ergo Get your ass up you're part of the team.

Simone fed herself and Nick, before going downstairs, yawning. Being awake since two o'clock the day before did that to a person.

Nick looked around her room in awe.

"It's nice."

Simone snorted. She threw on her Pj's while he turned away. She went into her bathroom and took her make-up off as Nick leaned against the doorway. She then walked over to her bed and lay down. After a minute of hesitation, Nick followed after her.

"Nick?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"I'm scared of him. Properly, properly frightened."

Nick sighed and wraped his arms around her tightly.

"He's not going to get you. I'm here, Simone."

"Yes." She sighed and turned in his arms, facing him. "Yes you are."

They both fell asleep like that.


	8. Chapter 8

Simone stared at the badge Grissom had just given her. 'CSI Level 1' Greg was grinning. He always knew she'd become a CSI before he would.

"Really?" She asked, her brown eyes wide. "REALLY?"

Warrick began laughing too, clapping along with everybody else. Nick kissed her cheek.

"Maybe you should accept it rather than sit there and be amazed." He whispered before pulling away. Simone launched at grissom hugging him tightly. He laughed a little, and hugged back, though it was out of character for him.

"And seeing as I knew this before you did, and I love you so much, I took the liberty of putting this together for you." Greg handed her a silver case, her initils in the bottom right corner of the lid. Opening it up, she saw everything she'd need. Print powder, brushes, the works. Literally everything. Simone gasped and hugged her brother as tightly as she could.

"THANKS TEDDY!"

"YOU'RE WELCOME BEAR!"

"Alright, your first case, Simone, is to work with Nick and Warrick on a car crash." He handed Warrick the slip of paper and watched them leave, Simone and Warrick goofing off as they did. They got to the scene when the first responders were trying to get the victim out of the car. The saw was loud, so Warrick had to shout.

"Everyone still breathing in that car?"

An officer turned to face them.

"So far!"

Simone had to cover her ears, so she couldn't even hear what Nick said next. Something about a line and seeing who made it.

"No," The officer responded. "We were first on the scene, fire department came two minuets behind."

The cop walked off, and Simone headed over to check on the man in the back. Nick pulled her away, mumbling, "Process, Darlin', process."

"Where's the driver? He get thrown?" Warrick noticed the empty front seat.

"Didn't find anyone," The cop replied.

Nick looked up at the cliff, neither him nor Warrick noticing Simone walking around the crime scene.

"I thinking DUI." Nick said.

"You calling it?" Warrick asked him.

"I'm calling the beer bottle." Simone smirked up at the men from her crouched position. She lifted it with her pen, since she didn't have her gloves on.

"How do you know it's from the car?" Warrick challenged.

Beer dripped over her fingers.

"Still cold." She called back. She examined the bottle. "Foam in the bottle. You boys wanna take it up top?"

Warrick and Nick cast each other smirks.

"After you princess." Warrick shined his light up the cliff.

They processed up there until morning. Nick had to go pretty far off to measure the skid marks. When he finally got back, Simone was taking pictures of where the car went over and Warrick was supervising.

"These skids started way up the road," Nick stated. "Guy was going at least seventy."

"More like eighty," Warrick corrected. Simone rolled her eyes. She knew now why Grissom put her on this case with the two of them. So that some work would get done, rather than just competition between Nick and Warrick.

"These grooves are from the cars frame." She told them. "It balanced before it fell." She snapped a picture of footbrints leading away from the scene. "And this is where he bailed. There's wide spacing, slipping of the heel. He ran."

Both men looked at the prints and asked her a simple question.

"Who?"

"The Phantom Driver," Simone smirked.

"So a drunk driver just...got out and ran away?" Warrick mocked. Simone nodded. "Where to?"

"I don't know. You're the level three, figure it out, yourself."

Nick laughed. Then he became very serious.

"He left his buddy out to dry, I can tell you that."

"Which, by the way, Warrick, if very against the Texan Code of Honor and Nobility."

Warrick chuckled.

"How do you explain car number 2?" He pointed to the second set of skid marks.

"Second car drove by, witnesses the crash, see's our man running and picks him up. Probably took him to the hospital." Simone shrugged. "These though, I can't explain them." She gestured to the footprints leading to the edge of the cliff. "Evenly spaced, even weight. Calm footsteps leading to the edge." She snapped a picture.

"Easy. This is a crime. Not an accident."

Simone looked at Warrick, skeptical. Nick immediately jumped to defend her.

"You, uh, you care to back that statement up?"

Warrick smirked.

"Guys don't bet. Please!" Simone pushed the heels of her palms into her eyes.

"Phantom driver against your criminal?"

"How much?"

"It's pointless. I shouldn't even try." Simone walked away, throwing her hands in the air.

"Fifty,"

"I don't get out of bed for less then a bill."

"Honestly, I mean, it's work. You get paid enough without having to BET ON THE JOB!" She turned and shouted at the men who were still ignoring her. Nick gave Warrick the stare, before laughing and shaking his hand.

Simone got into the Back seat of Nick's Tahoe, having tagged along with the two of them instead of wasting gas and taking seperate cars. They drove to the hospital to talk to a doctor about the man in the back of the car, aptly nicknamed 'Mr. Backseat.'

"So, is Mr. Backseat gonna make it?" Nick asked, slipping an arm around Simone's shoulders. This was the end of the hospital where the crack heads and gangbangers hung out. Nick wasn't necessarily worried about the crack heads, but Simone would be too pretty for the gangbangers to pass up. Ya know, if he and Warrick weren't there, the fact that they were cops being nearly palpable.

"His name's Walter Bangler. He'll live."

"Is he well enough to talk?" They passed a gang member in the hall who eyed Simone in a way that Nick seriously didn't like. He slipped his hand into her back pocket while glaring at the man. Simone squeaked but did nothing about it. Nick moved his hand again once out of the sight of the man.

"Subdural Hemotoma, compound rib fractures-"

"Okay, okay, we get it. When can we see him?" Nick asked.

"He never said we couldn't see him," Simone smirked at Nick and smiled at the doctor. He smiled back at her.

"You're right, I never did." He laughed. He opened a door, and pulled back Me. Bangler's privacy screen. "He's sedated. If you want to talk to him you'll have to wait until he comes off his meds."

"12 to 24 hours." Simone informed.

"Exactly." The doctor agreed. "How did you know, Dr. Sanders? Your the local Anthropologist."

"I dabble." Simone shrugged.

"But yes. 12 to 24 hours." The doctor smiled sheepishly as Nick drew in a deep breath and rubbed at his eyes.

Warick smiled as Simone grabbed Nick's wrists and pulled his hands away from his face. She smoothed under his eyes and he closed them.

"It's okay." She mumbled. He leaned into the palm of her right hand. "We'll solve it."

Nick sighed and nodded, before pulling away.

Warrick smiled again as he let them have their moment. Then he saw something on Mr. Bangler's wrist.

"Tan lines. No watch or ring."

"Uh, Check his personal effects." Nick told him. Warrick picked up an envalope on a table and looked inside. He looked back up at them and raised his eyebrows. He dumped the contents and a wallet fell out.

"That's it?" Simone asked, crossing her arms and popping her hip.

"Must have been one hell of a fall off that cliff to knock his watch and his ring off." Warrick opened the wallet. "And take his money." He glanced at Simone as Nick smiled at the odds now. "So want to up the stakes to two hundred?"

"Oh, God. Really? Over the man's hospital bed?" Simone tried to walk away but Nick grabbed her back, not wanting her walking the hallways without him.

"Two on a deuce?" Nick asked quietly.

"Same my foul play against your Phantom Driver?"

"Let the records show I'm being held against my will by a pair of super-Texan arms. Them's some strong arms, ladies and gentleman."

Nick playfully squeezed her, but kept his eyes on Warrick.

"You bet." They shook hands, and the doctor smiled, confused, at the two of them.

They drove back to the lab and Nick said something about War and Super gluing the car. Simone figured she'd just go get her Ipod and sit down there with him. And that's just what she did. She was sitting in an abandoned non-probative, gutted front seat of a car and watching him boredly as she listened to her music.

Warrick came down after a few hours and ruffled her hair as he passed. He saw a big plastic tarp over the car and figured Nick was trying to get a print from somewhere.

"Supergluing the entire car? A little much isn't it?"

"Hey!" Nick came from near the tarp. "Man this is war!"

Warrick chuckled.

"Hey, I checked with six different medical centers, and...no phantom driver. In any of them."

"Ehh," Nick waved his hand. "Minor setback. How bout the 911 call?"

"Cell phone. PD's putting a name to it now." He looked around at everything Nick had out. "What's all this?"

"The car was rented from the Airport three days ago." Nick replied.

"To?"

"Your mom. Who do you think? Walter freaking Bangler." Simon scoffed jokingly. "Idiot."

"I'm thinking Vegas vactation, side trip to Hoover Dam?" Nick gave Simone's face sparkle fingers.

"Get your hands outta my face ya freakin dumbass." She impatiently but lovingly swatted him away.

"It makes sense...You find his watch and ring?" Warrick asked him coyly.

"Well...No." Simone giggled at his face, completely sheepish.

Warrick chuckled loudly.

"Oh-ho-ho my pockets are getting fat!"

"NO! He just travels light! there's only one change of clothes in the damn suitcase!" Nick argued. Simone reached up from her spot and grabbed his arm, calming him down instantly.

"Jeez, you see all that money in there?"

"Warrick." Simone gave him a look. Warrick sighed and nodded at her.

"Okay, the fumes have settled, give me a hand." He pulled Simone up and she, Nick and Warrick pulled the tarp off the car. Nick spotted the fingerprints on the dash and the steering wheel.

"You can run," He chuckled. "But you can't hide."

Nick pulled the prints, and Simone ran up to run them through AFIS. She chatted with Greg for a while, as she was waiting. Greg had been recruited for Sara, Grissom and Catherine's case. She paged her boys when the prints were done.

"What do we got, babe?" Nick asked.

"The prints have all finished processing. And our vic, Walter Bangler's top of the list."

"That's a big list." Warrick stated.

"Well, War, we did print the entire car. What do you expect?" Simone rolled her eyes. "But anyways, I also have some mysterious news." She tapped the tip of the microscope.

"What?"

"There are specs of blue dust in the ridges of Bangler's print. Here, look." She moved to the side, and Warrick took a look. After a few seconds, Nick asked to see it too.

"What do you think?" Warrick asked his partners.

"I have no idea." Nick stated and Simone shrugged. She and Nick looked at each other then, and each held up a list of people.

They sat there for hours, uncomfortable until they both sat on the floor, Simone's head on Nick's stomach, reading the lists. This is the scene Warrick walked in on.

"Who's your Phantom Driver?" Warrick asked them. Simone yawned and sat up. Nick followed suit.

"Possibly a Cop from Philly." Nick replied. "Or a nurse from Omaha. Don't forget the mail carrier from Nashville"

"Babe, Tex it's pointless. It's a rental. These prints are probly older then Brass is." Simone tossed the list away from her and groaned.

"You're right." Nick tossed his down too. "This is going nowhere."

"Giving up?" Warrick asked him.

Nick chuckled.

"No, no, no. We're still on. I may be stalled, but I'm not out."

"You want to take it to three?" Warrick crossed his arms.

"Oh for the love of God!" Simone groaned again, louder this time.

"Do _you_ want to take it to three?" Nick coutered. The men fist bumped and Nick got the most adorable look on his face Simone got the urge to snap a picture and keep it forever, but she knew she'd see it again.

"Men," She groaned.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Awwwe I didn't get any reviews for the last chapter. That makes me sad :( Oh well. Maybe this chapter will get some.

"You still think he was robbed?" Nick asked of Warrick.

"Tan lines where his watch and ring used to be? On vacation in Vegas, but no money in his wallet. His face all bruised up before he took that cliffside tumble. You're damn right I think he was robbed." He took a sip of the apple juice that he pulled from the community fridge.

Simone straightened up to sit in an actual chair, rather than the floor. Warrick then went into a detailed description of what he thought happened. Nick laughted at the thought.

"He lays in wait, he robs him, he tries to KILL him! But he lets him buckle in." Nick sipped his orange juice

"The robber probably didn't know Bangler would get drunk and go crash his car. Probably put him in the back to make us think that someone else was driving. But he only fooled you."

"I feel as if I'm the only one with out a drink," Simone commented idly. Nick handed her his orange juice.

"What about the blue dust Warrick?" Nick asked.

"What about it?"

"Don't you think it matters?"

"Maybe." Warrick took a seat across from Simone. Nick pulled her out of her seat, sat, then pulled her into his lap. "But there's other questions to answer first."

"Okay," Nick sighed. "Like?"

"Footprints and tire tracks," Warrick replied. Simone stayed mostly silent, because she knew that they were only going to work this out-The fact that the man really was just drunk and drove himself over a cliff- because of the bet.

Nick nodded at him.

"I hate you," He playfully glared and lay his chin on Simone's shoulder.

"You love me."

"Really though," Simone turned to look at Nick, "Who you kidding?"

They split up, Simone helping Warrick look for the footprints, and Nick went to find the tire treads. After two hours, and Simone almost falling asleep, she finally shouted in rejoice.

"FINALLY!"

"Hey Babe, you get a match?" Nick walked in the room eating an apple. Simone lifted up her shoe and showed them the sole.

"Ooo Converse Allstar!"

"Specifically, size eleven. Mine are a ten, women's, so they aren't mine. But it's a match. We so didn't need to waste this much time."

Nick seated himself next to her.

"That sole's been around twenty years." He added.

"Had to be sure," Warrick told them.

"You look tired, buddy. You want me to make you a bottle, go night-night?"

"Want me to clock you?" Simone asked, whacking Nick in the stomach. "Grow up."

"You should have worked the tire tracks. Jimmy in trace put together a digital catolog of treads. Has thousands on file. Took me three minutes." He slapped dowm the results.

"Purelli low profile P-0's. High preformance."

"And standard on your alleged get away vehical; A '99 Bentley Arnage."

"I'll stick with my Trans Am, thank you very much." Simone mumbled.

"You don't even use it!" Nick chuckled.

"SO? It was my first car. It holds sentimental value."

"Anyways. How many people do you think drive that kind of price tag, Warrick?"

"Three." Brass held up three fingers. "Through the DMV search."

They all stood in front of him, listening to what he had to say.

"Any of them stolen?"

"Yeah, one. Last week." Brass handed Nick a picture. "Came in a couple hours ago. Take a look."

"Oh, so sweet." Nick stared at the picture. Simone shrugged. She preferred her Trans Am. Or muscle/sports cars.

Warrick took a picture of the stolen car's tires and compared it to the pictures of the tracks Simone had taken at the scene.

"Check this," He told Nick and Simone. "101 Says this is the car."

"Yeah well, Don't bet on it Warrick. That's about all the evidence you're going to get out of the Bentley. We found it at a car was off of Warm Springs. It had been vacuumed, detailed, the whole works. It's cleaner than brand new."

Warrick drew in a deep breath and Nick grinned at his friend.

"Well, I wish Bangler's rental car company were as considerate as your theif." He patted Warrick on the back, laughed and walked away. Simone followed after him.

"Nicky." He paused and waited for her, slipping an arm around her shoulders as they walked. "Get me a sample of that dust. We'll go to Greg."

Warrick walked in just as Nick was swabbing a plue spot.

"What you doing his laundry for him?"

"Something to compare our mystery blue dust to." Nick smiled and handed Simone the sample. She kissed him on the cheek and grinned. The boys cast each other a look, and followed Simone out the door.

"So," Greg was doing the test. "What's the pot up to?" He handed Simone the now liquified sample.

"No, We don't bet on cases," Nick said.

"Oh, Of course you don't." Simone's tone was harsh. Nick shuddered, begining to feel bad about ignoring her when she told them not to gamble. Simone shook the sample a bit before placing it into the machine.

"So who's winning?" Greg grinned.

"I am." They both replied, then looked down as Simone sighed loudly.

"Fiends." Greg laughed. "Bear, The results, please!" Simone handed him the freshly printed out piece of paper. "Your mystery dust is...Silicon blue dye."

"Uh...Simone, what's that?" Warrick watched Simone cross her arms.

"Pool cue chalk." She smiled as Nick once again grinned at Warrick. Warrick let out a chuckle. They walked out of the lab and to the break room.

"Thanks Teddy."

Greg smiled at his sister. Then he looked like he remembered something.

"Dinner at Sully's tonight?"

"You buying?" Simone asked.

"I believe it's my night, yeah?"

Simone nodded and hugged her brother, walking off into the breakroom. Nick was spinning his idea of what he thought happened.

"So, Bangler's shooting stick, with the Phantom Driver, tosses a few back, piles into the rental. I-93, Hoover Dam. But don't drink and drive, you may spill your drink. He skids, bangs into the railing, see-saws, on the edge. What does the driver do? Man he bails! He leaves Bangler in the back to take the fall. Litterally. Fingerprints, footprints, grooves. All the bases are covered. Victim, suspect, crime scene. Like a laxititve." He tossed the football he was holding to the sitting Warrick. "It works." He took a seat himself.

Warrick thought to himself.

"Bangler's shooting stick, I'll give you that. Burping Bourbons, I'll give you that too. But he leaves solo." Warrick stood and Simone took his seat. "Few miles down the road, Bentley theif flaggs him down. Spooks him into a skid. BOOM CRASH." Simone jumped at this, having not expected it, then rolled her eyes. "He's robbed, and forced into the back. Pushed over the edge, with Bangler out of the way, theif gets in his stolen Bentley, hightails it out of there. No watch, no rings, no cash. Stolen Bentley tire treads, Converse All Star size eleven. All bases covered. Victim, suspect, crime scene. Like a canary. It sings." Warrick tossed the football back to the smirking Nick. Simone crossed her legs, and waited.

"You know, I hate to admit it but I like your theory, it works."

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing about your Phantom Driver."

"So what do you think, boys, can two solid theories both backed by the evidence, both be correct?" Simone leaned towards them. Warrick just didn't answer. Nick tossed the football again. Simone's phone beeped, and saw a message from Bangler's doctor. "Well, let's go see. For the record. I think the guy was just drunk as hell. Betting on pool, and when he decided to leave, he needed to pay up. Lost all he had already, got hit because of it, and his watch and rings were payment. Was driving on the I-93, got spooked, swerved, and see-sawed. Tried to even out the pressure by sitting in the back seat, and buckling himself in, just in case. Then he went over."

"Wanna bet." Warrick and Nick asked. They were getting good at that speaking in unison thing.

"Okay. Sure. Four?"

"Hundred? You're on." Nick replied.

"Wanna seal it with a kiss?" Simone asked, a wide grin forming on her face. Nick nodded and kissed her cheek, a grin gracing his face as well. They all headed to the hospital. They waited for half an hour before the doctor looked at the three of them.

"Two minutes. Understand?"

"Oh, that's all we'll need." Simone was the first to enter the room. "Hello Mr. Bangler. How are you feeling. Better?"

"Well I'm not unconcious anymore, so I guess I feel okay."

"I'm going to come right out and say it. What happened to you is not right. The person who did this needs to be brought to justice. Tell me who that person is. Who was driving that car?"

"Who the hell are you guys?"

Warrick and Nick tried to introduce themselves at the same time. Warrick sighed and let Nick have it.

"My name's Nick Stokes, this is Simone Sanders and Warrick Brown. We're the criminalistics who are working your accident."

"Actually, sir, I don't think it was an accident, I think you were robbed." Nick looked up at the ceiling, finally fed up with Warrick. Simone wrapped her arm around his, and rubbed gently, eyes on Mr. Bangler's face rather than at Warrick or Nick. "And any information you have about the attacker would be helpful."

Bangler stared at Warrick.

"I wasn't attacked. I was drunk. Really drunk." Simone chuckled quietly as both Nick and Warrick turned to look at her after this revalation. "No way should I have been driving that car..."

He then went on describing how he got into the accident, Simone having to push her face into Nick's chest to hude her rapidly growing grin.

"You mean you got hustled?" Warrick asked.

"I won the first game!"

"You climbed in the back seat yourself?" Nick had an unbelieving look on his face.

"Yea," Bangler answered as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Congradulations, Mr. Bangler, buckling up really did save your life." Simone smiled.

"Yeah, Yeah I guess it did." Bangler laughed, then winced.

"Pay up," Simone whispered. Nick looked at her, amazed. He and Warrick each handed her four hundred dollar bills. "Oh, Mr. Bangler," She turned to the man. "How much did you loose, all together."

"Around eight hundred dollars."

"What a coincidence," Simone handed him the money. "Buy yourself a new watch and some more rings. Just don't buy more alchohol, alright." Simone smiled and left the room, an amazed Nick and annoyed Warrick following after her. "Hehehehehe."

After that, Simone only remembers going to dinner with Greg, and then, just silence. Utter silence, and darkness. Simone Sanders was gone.


	10. Chapter 10

Greg's panicked call to Nick at eight in the morning got him out of bed instantly. Simone was missing. Nick cursed. Simone had said something about going to dinner with Greg after shift ended. It had to be Raymond. It just had to be.

Getting the warrent was the first thing they did. Nick had had Grissom record the message on Simone's phone in order to get the restraining order. They used the same recording and the restraining order itself to not only arrest Raymond, but to get a warrent to search his house.

"I said it, didn't I?" Raymond smirked at Nick across the hall. "That I'd take her? Of course, Greg wasn't supposed to be there when I did. That was just unfortunate for Greg. You know, because I had to knock him out."

"You admit to kidnaping her?"

"Of course. And I admit to fucking her. Brutally. She called for you, Tex."

"Don't call me that." Nick slammed his hands onto the table. "Do NOT call me that."

"Does my bitch call you that? You should have heard her sobs. 'Nick, Nick help me please.' It was pathetic."

"Shut the hell up, man. I'm warning you."

"I told her I'd killed you and she cried, and cried." Raymond laughed hysterically. "Then I fucked her a few mor times, cut her up a little too."

Nick pounced and punched Raymond on the face. "Nick!" The door slammed open and Grissom pulled Nick off of the bloodied, laughing man.

"Get off of me Grissom! I'm going to kill this son of a bitch!"

"Listen to me Nick. This isn't going to help her. Get him out of here," He ordered to two uni's. "The only way we can help her is to follow-"

"Yeah, yeah. Follow the evidence. Got it." Nick shoved away from Grissom and he could be heard stomping down the hall angrily.

Nick sat most of the day with Greg. Greg was depressed, and had quite a nasty bump on his head.

"Find her Nick." Greg mumbled after a few hours of silence between the two. They were still waiting for the damned warrent. "God, please find her. I don't know if I can live without her."

Nick put an heavy hand on his friends shoulders.

"I promise."

Simone awoke in a dark room and cringed. After a few hours of being raped by Raymond, and physically and mentally tortured, she had finally passed out. But waking up, feeling the dried blood caked on her thighs, and on the sheets. It was the most disgusting feeling in the world.

She struggled against the shackles keeping her to the bed. She groaned and pushed her head against the pillows, giving up.

Nick kicked down Raymond's front door. It was a small house, one storey. Warrick and Grissom followed after him, checking every room. Calls of clear came from them. Nick let out a soft hiss. She wasn't here. They hadn't found her. It was a dead end. A dead end, and they were running out of time.

Simone observed her surroundings. The room was dark, because it was obviously night time. It was a cabin, judging by the structure.

A door slammed open and she hissed softly. He was back.

"So you're the girl," The voice was not Raymond's. "Seems Ray finally got good taste. Hello. I'm his one phone call. The name's Arthur." He ran a hand over her hip and Simone shivered, a furious glare on her pretty face. "I'm sorry. I couldn't resist." He pulled his hand away. "I know Ray. This is so like him. I hate it. I need to figure out a way to get you out of this." Arthur carefully pulled the sheet up to cover Simone.

"Why?" It was all she could muster.

"Am I helping you? Simple. To rebel. Ray's a shitty brother anyway." Arthur pulled a bobby pin from his pocket and smiled at Simone kindly. He gently took her chained wrists in his hand. "You've been pulling at these." Arthur ran his thumb along where the chain met the skin. "That could be infected, already."

"It's not."

Arthur grinned.

"Ah yes. He mentioned something about Dr. being in your name." Arthur began picking the lock expertly. It was open in seconds. He took her hands gently again and wrapped the injuries with pieces of his -now torn- t-shirt. "Here," He picked up her tossed around clothes and handed them to her. He turned his back as she changed slowly.

"Where will you take me?"

"First? To a telephone." He helped her walk outside, and politely held her hair back for her as she puked her guts in the bushes. Then he helped her into the car. He helped her out again as they reached a payphone.

Nick paused as his phone rang.

"Stokes,"

"Nicky?" She grew incredibly happy, overjoyed he was okay. He wasn't dead.

"Simone?"

Gregs head snapped up, as did Sara's and Catherine's, both of whom had joined the moping boys in their self pitying.

"Where are you, baby?" No one missed the urgent compassion in Nick's voive.

"Where am I?" Simone repeated, sniffing quietly. She looked back at Arthur, who was watching her carefully, to make sure she didn't collapse. He shrugged, mouthing 'no clue.' "We don't know. Shit."

"Stay on the phone, we're running a trace." Catherine called softly.

"Okay. It's a payphone."

"We?" Nick whispered.

"He saved me, Nicky." Arthur took a step up. She offered him the phone. He accepted.

"You're the so called hick my brother was talking about?"

"If you hurt her-"

"Relax, man. I'm not going to save her, just to kidnap her again. And from the sound of the both of your voices, you care a lot about each other. I'll bring her back to you, said and done. My brother wanted me to kill her, but by no means was I going to destroy my life like that."

"Smart man," Simone mumbled.

"Oh, hush you." Arthur rolled his eyes. "Anyways, took about an hour for me to get from Vegas to the cottage. I suppose we'll be at the crime lab in 1 and a half."

"Put Simone on."

Arthur handed her the phone instantly.

"Baby, I'm not letting you out of my sight again, once you're in it."

"Nicky, it hurt so bad."

"I know, baby. I know. I'm so, so sorry."

"I don't want to go to the hospital. You know I hate them."

"I know. It'll just be me and the team if you want."

"Okay." Simone sniffed. "I'll see you, soon?"

Arthur nodded his consent.

"I'll be waiting darling. In the mean time, tell that guy that I'm going to fucking kill his brother."

"I will." Simone laughed tearfully.

The phone cut off after that, telling them to insert more quarters. Simone sighed, feeling instantly depressed at the loss of his comforting voice.

"Come on, Simone. We'll be seeing him soon enough." Arthur held the door open for her. She sat in the passenger seat, and placed her head in her arms, whick were folded over her knees. Arthur sighed and got in the passenger seat.

"I'm sorry. I really am. My brother has this sick obsession with beautiful blonde women who are so, so out of his league. There is nothing I can say or do to make up what he did to you, Simone."

"Please," She looked up at him, her brown eyes glistening with unshead tears that stunned him into silence. "Just get me to Nick, Arthur. I want to see Nick."

Arthur's only response was to gun it down the highway. He cut the time in half, pulling to a stop outside the crime lab. He helped Simone out of the car, and into the building. It was alive with life, everyone running around and chatting about finding her. A cry of "Oh my God!" Stopped everyone in their tracks.

Simone and Arthur made their way slowly through the halls, and into the break room. Everyone in there paused as well, as Simone fell into Nick's lap.

"Baby," He squeezed her tightly. "Oh, Greg, get over here."

Greg joined the hug, and glanced thankfully at Arthur. Arthur slipped out of the room with a smile on his face. Grissom followed at once.

Simone had pulled herself into a ball as Nick and Greg cuddled her protectively to him. Catherine told Nick to take her back home, mumbling that she'd be over later to do the rabe kit, and that both Greg, and Nick were now evidence. They both nodded and Greg tore off his lab coat, putting it into a big brown evidence bag. Nick took a couple of those with him too.

On the ride over to her and Greg's place, Simone refused to sit in her own seat, and stayed in Nick's lap the entire time. She wouldn't eat, when he asked what she wanted. She just waited for Catherine. When Catherine got there, she wondered about Simone's condition and what it would do to Nick.

"Nick, maybe you should-"

"No," Simone's hand shot out and grabbed Nick's arm tightly, digging her nails into his arm. "Catherine, please, no."

"Okay, Okay, Darlin' I'm not leaving you."

"Nicky, I need her clothes,"

Nick stiffened and nodded.

"Let me, Cath, I don't think she'll be comfortable, otherwise." Nick sat down carefully next to Simone. He pulled her shirt up slowly, locking eyes with her. She shuddered, but allowed him to slip her shirt off. He handed every artical of clothing to Cathertine, until Simone was bare before him. He stared into her eyes, and didn't let his eyes wander.

A soft gasp from Catherine forced him to look at her body. What he saw there made him draw in a shap breath as well. Simone wimpered softly as she felt Nick's entire body shaking with the intense anger coursing through his veins like liquid fire.

Bruises littered her skin, most in the shape of fingers or hands. There were cresant shaped cuts on her hips and thighs. Bite marks on her stomach and over most of her legs made Nick growl.

Simone squeezed his hand as tightly as she could, and Nick controlled his anger to climb in her bed next to her and hold her while Catherine did the rape kit. Simone flinched and turned her head away as Catherine took swabs of Raymond's DNA from her thighs, vagina, anus, and buttocks.

"I've got you, babe." Nick whispered, letting her hide her face in his chest. "I've got you."

"I'm done, Nick."

"Uh. Can you get her some clothes, Cath? I can only ignore my needs for so long." Catherine nodded and Nick told her where to get all the clothes, remembering watching Simone gather everything before her shower in the morning, that night Grissom had him stay over.

Simone refused to move once Catherine had left, promising to send Greg home.

"Come on, Sims, get dressed." Nick begged. "Or I'll have to do something I don't want to do. Not in the state you're in right now." Simone met his eyes with her teary chocolate colored ones. She slowly reached for the clothes and put them on, Nick sighing in relief as she did.

"Okay," Nick smiled at her. "This is a start."

Simone knew she was on the road to recovery, already.


	11. Chapter 11

I think I can pretty much only say this once. I won't update a story until I get at least one review for the last chapter of said story that I posted. If I get no reviews, I will NOT update. I'll write the chapter, but I won't put it up. That is what is happening right now. I got no reviews so I'm not posting until I do. Honestly, people, it takes twenty seconds, mayne even less. Take the time out of your important scheduals to tell someone what you think of their hard work. It's not that hard.

Sincerly, ADJL'sgirl.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Delaney, I want the smut to happen too, but technically, they aren't together, though they may as well be, and Sims just got Raped. I don't think it'll happen til, like, the end of season one, rather than episode nine. I'm just saying. I was actually pissed at myself because I had Ray rape her. Because now no sex between Nick and Sims will happen for a while. Damn me!

By the end of the week, Simone still needed Nick to go to sleep, but she was getting better. She was almost, Nick noticed, back to her old self. The teasing, the smiles, and the sarcasam was all there. But she would always lapse into silence, and it was hard to get her to come out again.

She was even back to working correctly. It was the first case after Raymond, and she was excited. Mostly because that meant Raymond wasn't there to bug her or hurt Nick and Greg in any way.

Simone was in a plane, which was their current crime scene. A man found dead in first class.

"What about the passengers in coach?" Nick asked, standing up straight from where he was kneeling by the body.

"Nope. When does anybody ever see anything?" Simone groaned. Nick smiled over at her.

"Brass says the curtain was shut, the flight attendents kept the cabins seperated, they disembarked from the rear." Sara replied.

"What about our dead guy?" Warrick asked. Simone looked to Catherine.

"Tony Candlewell." Catherine nodded to Simone.

"Aged thirty, comunications manager from Atlanta. Married, no record."

"So what do you think?" Grissom asked. Everyone turned to him.

"I'm thinking that this must have been scary at thirty thousand feet," Simone shook her head.

"All this damage for one guy? Had to be on drugs," Warrick guessed.

"Too much damage for one guy," Sara denied.

"Sooo..."

"More than one guy." Nick finished Simone's thought. He smiled again as she nodded and stepped over the body to get to his side. He wraped his arm around her. "What do you think Griss?"

"I think we have ten witnesses who are all singing the same song. Deceased went berserk."

"Ahhh, a lovely tune. A composition of violins, flutes, and crazy men with drums." Simone mused.

"Until we find evidence that says otherwise, that's what happened." Grissom continued on as though she hadn't spoken. "Catherine?"

"I'll start the interviews."

"Thank you, Warrick go with." Warrick nodded. "Brass has then all in the lounge, assume there's evidence on all of them. Nick and Simone, go with the coroner. Sara and I will work the plane. This is a mobil crime scene. May not be here when you get back."

Everyone went off to their respected places. Nick watched Simone hand Dr. Williams a thermometer.

"Is that a meat themometer?" He asked.

"It's a digital read out." Simone told him. Dr. Williams looked at the thermometer. "Bigger numbers, dear."

"98.1."

"Our guy should be colder than that." Nick said, just as confused as his friends. "Body temperature drops two degrees an hour after death and then half a degree for each successive hour."

"Oh, very good, Nick." Simone patted his back. "He's been dead for two hours."

"That would make his temperature at his time of death 101!"

"Point six." Simone nodded. "He had a fever."

"Let's see what else we've got." Dr. Williams leaned foreward to begin her autopsy.  
>"Petechial hemoraging in the eyes, suggesting asphyxia of some sort. Horse shoe shaped contusion of the side of the neck."<p>

"That looks like the heel of a boot." Nick observed. Simone stayed silent. Nick cast her a worried glance.

"Oh. I'll buy that, for now." Dr. Williams agreed. "Multiple contusions, front and back. Broken hand."

"Well this guy is a study in contradictions." Nick held up the dead man's hand. "He's got defensive wounds on his palms. But the scarpes on his knuckles and the broken hand indicate agression." Nick and Dr. Williams shared a confused look. Simone refused to look up from the body. An example of when she slipped into those silences that worried Nick to no end. Dr. Williams finished her autopsy and Nick called Grissom to tell him what was discovered.

"What have you got?" Nick walked into Greg's lab with his arm around Simone.

"Well, what you have here," Greg replied. "Is a nice bordeaux, with a Starbucks blend."

Simone raised an eyebrow at Greg, who sighed.

"No blood, no Saliva."

"What about prints?" Nick walked around the manniquin with the victims clothes on it.

"Ehh, suede leather is a tough gig. It's too poreus."

"Hey," Nick muttered, causing Greg and Simone to gather around him. "You loosing your touch, Einstien?" There were lots of horseshoe shaped bruises on the body, taht matched the imprints on the jacket. "Multiple hoseshoe sized bruises. Those are definately shoe prints."

"Yeah," Greg agreed. "Looks like somebody stomped on your dead guy."

Nick called Grissoma gain to tell him what was found. Then he had Greg take a picture of the prints on the jacket. and sent it over to the airport with Sara. Half an hour later, and still without a word from Simone, they were on the road to the airport with a crash dummy, each.

"Okay, Vicky Mercer and Carl Finn, I believe are in the bathroom." He told Catherine and Warrick.

"Mile High Club."

"I believe it's their spoused who are the dummies." Catherine commented idly.

"Emily Behrle is in 3F," Grissom continued as though neither had spoken.

Nick nodded. "Okay."

"Preston Cash, A1."

"Tony Candlewell, Dead guy."

Simone grabbed the dummy from Brass and put it in the seat right next to them, 3C.

"Exactly." Grissom nodded. "And for now he's alive."

"Until he's dead." Simone put a finger in the air. Nick sighed in relief.

"So you wanna tell us what we're doing here?" Brass asked.

"The physical evidence, that Sara, Nick, Simone and I collected is contradicting the anecdotal statemnets that you, Catherine and Warrick got, and my money's on the physical evidence."

"So is mine." Catherine rose her hand.

"Ditto," Simone did the same. "I think these passengers ar lying. If this was an arsen case, we'd burn down an empty house to prove our theory, right?"

"Mhm." Brass motioned for her to continue.

"Well in this case we're gonna recreate the flight."

"From 16:30 hours on," Grissom added. He handed Brass a card. "You are in 4B."

"Lou..." Brass read the card.

"LOU! The angry business man," Catherine grinned at Brass.

"How bout that," Simone commented.

"I wanna be Shannon." Sara stepped up.

"Good!" Grissom handed her the card.

"The stewardess.." Warrick laughed.

"Excuse me, it's flight attendant."

"Yeah, suck it, bitch," Simone laughed.

"Catherine the lady doctor, 3E."

"How imaginative, single mother."

"Simone and Nick, You're Max and Marlene. 2E and F. You two are married, who wants to wear the pants in the relationship?"

"Seniority, CSI 3, sweetie," Nick took a card. Simone gave him a dark glare and took the card with the wifes name on it.

"Why thank you," She smiled. Grissom smirked and handed Nick the other card.

"Warrick, up front, you're with the Captain." Warrick nodded and went up front.

"Let me guess. You're the computer geek?" Sara asked.

"In the interest of finding out what happened, Yes. Nate. In 2C." Grissom sat down and Simone giggled as the seat's back fell, and Grissom almost slipped. "Now listen. It's going to be sunrise in ten minuets. We're going to have to do a run low run, and do this in real time. Up until the point that Captain Myrtle, or...Warrick escorted the dead guy back to his seat the events are substantiated by the flight log, and the eyewitness statements, unless someone knows something different."

"What time was this?" Catherine asked.

"16:32 Hours, exactly 33 minutes before they landed in Vegas, One minute later, the plane hit turbulance."

"And according to our flight attendent, that's when our stiff lost it, and started hammering his call button."

"So," Sara began to walk over to the Dead man's dummy. "I walk over, try to calm the guy down, but he just won't quit."

"Well, we know he's suffering from Encephilitus. He's probably sweating and fighting back a migrane."

"Well I know what my guy's doing in my seat. Lou. He's getting ticked off." Brass put in.

"Yeah, but Candlewell, is ticking off Nate in 2C even worse. This guy is perceverating. Uncontrollably kicking at the seat."

"That's when Nate winds up and breaks the seat."

"Right." Grissom agreed. "So I get up, spin around and confront the guy,"

"Now Lou, in 4B said he was the peaacemaker," Warrick called from the cockpit.

"Peacemaker my ass," Brass denied. He held up the three empty whiskey bottles. "Got three empties in the pouch. So he drank some whiskey, Guy probably spilled Lou's drink."

"Very good," Catherine nodded, impressed with Brass.

"Well, I was boss of CSI once, for a reason." He stood. "Anyway Lou gets up, he's angry. He takes a swipe at the guy. Andy you know, knocking a few back at thirty thousand feet, he probably misses. What does he get for his troubles?"

"A CD swipe across his chops," Warrick commented.

"Right, so he falls back. Well maybe that's when Lou spills his own drink."

"Well, by this tim Candlewell's gotta be on his feet, right?"

"If I'm Max," Nick began. "I wan't no part of this. Plus I don't have an Isle seat."

"But you're lucky, your wife is gonna make sure that you get in the playing field," Brass smirked at the almost blushing, almost couple.

"Yeah, go on, honey, Save my life."

"Max gets up, slides across Marlene. 'Scuse me, Buttercup," Simone giggled softly. She and Nick were definately having their fun with this.

"Candlewell is moving up and down the isle by now," Grissom announced.

"I come over, confront the dead guy, and then...what..who talked to uh- to Max?" Nick ran a hand over his name tag.

"I did," Brass said. "Max told the guy to sit down. He turned, he shoved Max into the food cart, and Max ended up on the ground."

Grissom made a show of Pushing Nick with the dummy.

"Simone, I mean...Marlene. That's when you got up and grabbed the broken wine neck." Sara told her.

"Sweet. Nick, I'm here to save your ass." Simone stood, a grin clear on her face.

"Okay, there's a bottle of wine on the floor. You slash at Candlewell," Simone slashed with her hand, as Grissom spoke.

"That's how he got the defensive wounds." Brass said.

"So now our guy's bleeding. He heads for the cockpit. Bang Bang. He wants in the cockpit but it's locked. Captain Myrtle, get's on the horn, calls first class twice but there's no answer. Why?"

"Shannon's vapor locked."

"Can't get in the cockpit, so he heads for the exit door. Blood underneath the latch handle shows that Candlewell tried to open it. He opens that door, they all die."

"Now it's a whole new ball game." Brass noticed.

"Every man for himself." Simone added.

"Oh yeah," Nick nodded.

"This is when they really get scared."

"According to Preston, Max and Lou, got to Candlewell first," Warrick said. Nick and Brass took the dummy from Grissom.

"The struggle insued, Lou slammed into Preston, and Candlewood goes down."

"And my shoes end up on his back." Catherine stepped on the dummy.

"Mine too," Nick also steppen on him.

"The guy messed with my man, so I get my licks in," Simone stepped on it too, grinning at Nick.

"Nate's knuckles are bruised, so he was in on it."

"And we're in close quarters, so there's elbows flying everywhere," Brass made a movement with his elbow.

"That's probably how the Doctor got her black eye," Catherine realized.

"Hey, guys!" Sara inturrupted. "If you jump a guy at the exit, he dies at the exit."

"She's right," Simone nodded. "He ended up, five feet away. With his head towrds coach."

"He tried to get away," Nick stated.

"But they wouldn't let him." Simone nodded again.

"And at this point we're not individuals anymore, we're a mob. You can't do CPR on a man's back, the doctor had to turn him over. Probably just to cover for herself," Catherine turned the dummy over.

"That makes us all murderers." Grissom sighed.

Although they'd discovered who the murderes were, all of them walked. Simone, Nick and Sara were in the break room watching the news report about the murder. Warrick walked in and sighed, taking the remote from Sara's hand and turning off the TV.

"Hey," Sara didn't bother to fight back other than that.

"Woah," Nick snapped.

"Let it go, guys." Warrick told them.

"Those people killed a man, Warrick," Simone glared at him. "You can't just expect us to let it go."

"It's out of our hands. Our ruling was overturned by the good old sheriff and the feds."

Nick scoffed.

"And you're okay with that? We processed the evidence for twelve hours, layed out the whole case, and now those passengers are gonna suck martinis and eat shrimp cocktails? Where's the justice?"

"Oh, you think this is about justice?" Warrick asked him.

"Yeah, what else?"

"It's about human nature. How people react when their lives are threatened."

Simone bristled. She hadn't reacted like that when her life was threatened. Now did she?

"I know you're not condoning what they did." Sara was thinking the same thing.

"I'm not discounting it. I mean think about it. Is there anything more vaunerable then being at thirty thousand feet, in a tin can?"

"Feeling vaunerable? It's not a defence. And where they were is irrelavent!" Simone stood, towering over Warrick, because he was sitting.

"They took a life," Sara told Warrick, getting ready for bad shit to go down.

"Because their lives were threatened."

"AND MINE WASN'T?" Simone shouted, taking a step back to keep from hurting anyone. "MY LIFE WAS IN MORE DANGER THEN THEIRS, LAST WEEK! If what you're saying is true, then Raymond would be dead somewhere instead of locked up. That's what you're saying Warrick and it's not true. How many times on this job are our lives treatened? EVERY DAMN SECOND! And practically all those that treatened our lives are still alive. So how is taking a life because your life is threatened something you wouldn't discount?"

"That's different, Simone." Warrick sighed.

"No. No, it really isn't." Simone stormed out of the room. Nick made to get up, but Grissom and Catherine walked in and stopped him.

"Just let her go, Nick. You're her ride home, she won't go farther then Greg's lab."

When Nick finally found her, it turned out Grissom was right. She was curled up with Greg on the futon, crying her eyes out onto her brother's shoulder.


	13. Chapter 13

It seemed all Simone needed last week was to shout at Warrick. She'd apologized to him the next day, and he accepted and returned the apology. Nick, Simone, Catherine, Warrick and Sara were all in the break room, Catherine and Simone sitting at the table, Warrick making coffee, and Nick raiding the fridge. Sara was sitting on the couch, reading.

"Girls you want some coffee?"

"Please," Catherine told Warrick. "Uh, cream, with some of that fake stuff."

"I'm good," Simone raised the mug of Blue Hawaiian coffee that she and Greg shared an addiction to.

"There is nothing good to eat around here!" Nick exclaimed. Simone tossed Nick an apple as she took a bite out of her own. Nick smiled softly at her.

"Hey." Grissom walked into the room. "Sorry I'm late."

"Hey, how's the body with the bugs?" Catherine had her own apple too.

Grissom turned to look at Sara, who was going to work with him on that case.

"How do you know about that already?"

"Hey, don't look at me!" She glared back at his accusatory stare.

"We played a hunch, checked with homicide. You were late," Nick told him, Holding out his hands as a shield to block Grissom's 'boss-stare' which he found now directed at him.

"What you got for us?" Catherine asked.

"Here," He handed her a file. "A Paul Surrenson."

"Missing since last night, last seen in home of Richard...Ziggler? In Ooh, Summerland."

"Summerland? Rich folks." Warrick commented.

"Warrick, you can work this with Catherine. Don't you have a court date coming up?"

"Yeah, the DA just wants me to testify on Chain of Custody. I can do that in my sleep."

"Listen, juries need to have confidence in the Evidentiary Process. Why don't you work the case with Catherine and then break off when you have to appear." Grissom ordered.

"Yeah," Warrick agreed. He and Catherine left the break room.

"Need any help with your hommicide?" Nick asked, as Simone stood and walked over to him.

"No, Sara's gonna work with me. You two get a missing person." Grissom didn't notice Sara make a gun motion to Simone, or Simone grabbing her heart in mock pain from the imaginary bullet. "Sheryl Applegate. Her husband said she took her car, and drove to LA. But she never got there. A few hours ago, PD found her car at a bus station and requested CSI's."

"She took the bus instead. Case solved." Nick grinned. Simone laughed quietly.

"Let's hope you're right, Nicky," She smiled at him.

"Until we find out, you're to treat her car like a crime scene." Grissom scolded Nick.

Nick sighed and took the paper from Grissom. Simone followed him out of the break room, sticking her tongue out at Sara as she went.

As they pulled up outside the bus station, Simone groaned. It was that female detective that always flirted with Nick. He didn't usually flirt back, but there was always the possibility that he would, one day.

"Detective Secula." Nick stated, as he got out of the drivers seat, kit in hand.

"Mr. Stokes." She gave him a flirtatious smile, sending Simone an annoyed eye roll. Simone scoffed.

"What's up?" Nick offered, just being friendly, as he wraped an arm around Simone's shoulders.

"You got stuck on this one too? With the runt of the pack, I see."

Simone made a show of barking and growling at Secula. Nick snickered and reigned her in behind him.

"Yeah, well, missing person's case. Could be interesting."

"Husband reports his wife missing and her car is at a bus terminal? Come on. Lady took a trip, didn't want him to know where to. Not much of a mystery." Secula took a step closer to Nick, and he took two steps back, small, but still, he backed away. (A/N Peter Panda Dance, anyone? Two steps forward one step back.)

"Auto unit been by yet?" Nick was slipping on his gloves. Simone already had hers on, and was trying to keep from killing the blonde detective in front of them.

"Yeah, they just slim jimed. We dug for a body; didn't find one. Big supprise."

"Yeah," Nick chuckled awkwardly. Secula turned to face Simone with a scowel on her face. Simone was mirroring the ugly look, tenfold.

"No, I didn't touch a thing." She snapped at the younger, prettier girl.

"Wouldn't want your dirty paws all over the evidence," Simone's reply was curt and angry. She turned to the SUV behind her and opened the drivers side back door. Nick opened the passengers side.

"Secula," He asked. He knew he'd regret asking this some time tonight, but- "Is something wrong?"

"We had dinner last week. I thought it went great. You never called." Nick heard Simone's soft intake of air and knew instantly he already regretted his question. Oh well. He couldn't do anything but play it off now.

"That doesn't mean I wasn't going to." He smirked at Secula, opening the back of the SUV. There, he paused, looking at something on the carpet. "Is your missing person a red head?"

"Yeah," Secula nodded.

"Well call in a tow to the CSI garage. This case just got officialy interesting." Nick grinned at Secula.

When the tow got there, the first thing Sumone did was get into the passenger side seat with Sid, their usual driver. Nick came up to the window and stared up at her. She crossed her arms and ignored him.

"Simone..."

"Don't."

Sid started the truck and Nick watched in sadness as they drove away.

When at the garage, Nick spent his time vacuuming the car. In the lab, he spent the time trying to get Simone to talk to him. Both things didn't turn out so well. He did come up with blood in the car though, because he wanted to know why the carpet was so clean. He brought the sample to Greg's office, where Simone was hoarded away, running tests. Simone hadn't talked to him since the bus terminal. She even refused to take the samples from him, having Greg bring them over.

After a few hours, Simone loudly mentioned to Greg that the blood was a dead end, while Nick was in the room. He sighed, and left to go change his shirt. After a while of silence between Greg and Simone, her phone rang. Greg sprung.

"This is the Sanders Sibling Sex Line, how may I direct your call?" He awnswered, waggling his eyebrows at his sister. "Oh hey Nick," he paused. "I don't think she'll want to go if Cop-zilla's there, but I'll tell her. Hold on." He took the phone away from his ear. "Hey, Bear? Nick says that they got a call about the missing woman's credit card."

"Tell him to go, and that she's probably perfectly fine, and cheating on her husband with...oh...I'm gonna say a really hot guy. Hotter then a texan, that's for sure."

"Bear, it's getting old." But Greg grinned and relayed the message. Simone heard the upset sigh that came from the phone, but she ignored it. She just packed up and went home.

Simone sat on the couch with a bowl of chocolate ice cream, watching the mid-day soap operas, not really caring much how Hope Brady and Gina von Amberg were the same person.

A knock came on the front door, and Simone rolled her eyes.

"It's open!"

A few minutes later, Nick came in, sitting on the couch next to her.

"You were right,"

"He was cuter than you?" Simone rose her eyebrow at him.

"No. But she was cheating on her husband. Simone...it wasn't a date. Well, yes it was, but I was so concentrated on you that I couldn't concentrate on or enjoy it."

"Well, you said-"

"That I was going to call Secula? No, I'm not. I never was, but you were already pissed off, so I figured I'd go all the way so that I could fix it right all the way. I actually deleted her number the second she got in her door."

Simone looked long and hard into Nick's brown eyes, and sighed. She turned her gaze back to the TV.

"I hope you like chocolate." She handed him the bowl. "It's all we have."

"Yeah, I like chocolate." Nick smiled. He knew he was forgiven.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: I don't know if I mentioned this, but all of Simone's clothes are on my profile. So is the banner for the story.

"Well, if it isn't the boss and the conductor themselves!" Jim laughed as Grissom and Simone walked through the store's automatic door. Simone snickered. She was the conductor. "Where's your E-street band?"

"They had another gig." Grissom responded.

"How ya doing, Jim? How's that ollllld job?" Simone tugged on the bottom of the denim shirt that stopped at her midriff. It was late, she was in her comfortable clothes that no one but Ecklie cared about her wearing. She wasn't going to change for shit.

"Oh, I can sling scum all day, how about you two?" Jim eyed them.

"I curse more," Grissom stated.

"I started talking to the cadavers in the morgue." Simone sighed. "I've named the doe family something other than john and jane doe. I've created lives for them...shall I go on?"

"Oh yeah?" Jim chuckled. "Well just you wait. Shopping cart's over here. Missing womans name is Margret Shorey. Lives with her sister. Went out for groceries, never came back. Car is still in the parking lot."

They came up to the shopping cart, and began analyzing instantly.

"And her purse is still in the shopping cart." Simone held up the offensive item as Grissom said this. She searched through it gingerly.

"No wallet."

"Maybe she left the purse as a marker." Brass suggested. Simone shrugged, and looked into the cart.

"Chicken soup, ice packs, pain reliever..."

"Sister broke her arm in a car wreck."

"Hot dogs, hot dog buns?"

"Junk food junkie!" Jim grinned at the young girl who scrunched up her face. Then she leaned down, looking at the wheel of the cart.

"Grissom...I belive I found your lunch." She pointed casually to the yellow substance on the wheel. Grissom leaned down as well flicking the toe of Simone's high heeled jean trainer to get her to move her foot. Then, he took some of the yellow substance on his finger, sniffed it, then put it in his mouth.

"Oh, that's sanitary." Brass pulled a face. Simone made a noise of agreement, placing her gloved hands on her hips. Grissom ignored Jim and turned to Simone.

"Mustard." He told her. She turned to the manager of the store next to her.

"Did you have any mop ups in this aisle?"

"Yeah...As a matter of fact, we did."

Simone nodded. She looked back at Grissom, eyebrow raised.

"Life holds no supprises. Two bucks." She held her hand out to him, pulling a container of mustard from the shelfs.

Grissom stared at her before handing the manager two singles from his wallet.

"Dollar nintey eight for the mustard, plus our two cents." He sighed. Simone held the mustard high above her head, before letting go. It landed at Jim's feet, splashing him with yellow condiment.

"What are you doing?"

"Now...Where would you go?" Simone put her hands behind her back.

They all stood in the bathroom, Simone helping to clean the mess she just made on Jim's black pants.

"Oh man!" He wiped at the stain.

"I'm sorry, Brass," Simone laughed.

"Hey, Brass, look at this," Grissom called them over. He was standing at one of the stall doors.

"Huh?"

Grissom pointed at the door.

"See this?"

"What?"

"The circumference." Simone pointed in a circle, following the scratched out pattern on the door. "Looks like someone did a brillo job on this."

Jim shrugged.

"All I see is a clean door, Kiddo."

Simone shook her head, and turned back to the manager.

"Explanation?"

"Yeah, he's right. We cleaned it today. We had a complaint, so I had an employee clean it up."

"Can...we borrow a hammer?" Grissom asked. Simone smiled innocently.

Back at the lab, Grissom took pictures of the dismantled door, while held it upright, and Brass held a UV light at the door.

Setting the pictures up in order that they had been taken, a message was revealed in the pictures.

"I have killed five women. Catch me if you can?" Simone looked at Grissom, then at Brass. Eact of them had similar 'Oh, shit' looks upon their faces.

Simone followed Grissom as he walked to the break room, casses in hand.

"Sara Sidle, 4-19," He handed her the slip of paper.

"Dead Body. Bonus." She grinned at Simone, who chuckled, Shaking her head.

"Somebody likes their job!" Catherine laughed.

"Nick Stokes 4-16 fight at the Belagio. She says she's a friend of yours?"

"Ex-girlfriend, Nick?"

"Uh," Nick inwardly cursed. Simone was going to be mad at him, _again_. "It depends. Was she the assulter or the assultee?"

"You tell us," Sara joined in on the teasing, wincing inwardly for Simone's sake. "You like lace or leather?"

Simone peeked at the sheet. "PROBABLY the assultee. To answer your question, Sara...Lace."

Nick sighed. Yep. She was angry. He was just glad she was talking to him, because he didn't know what was happening, who was asking for him. So it wouldn't be as bad as Secula.

"Yeah...I'm not even going there." Nick rolled his eyes, placing a gentle kiss on Simone's temple, his way of apologzing to her for whatever may happen on this case. She sighed, pushing him out of the room.

"Catherine, you're with me and Simone."

"What's the case?" Catherine looked back and forth between Nick and Simone, and then Grissom and Simone. Simone steeled her mind, befor turning to Catherine and rolling her eyes.

"An obituary on a grocery store bathroom door."

"I'll meet you in the garage. First I have to take care of Warrick." Warrick had been gambling.

"Ugh," Catherine sighed. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

Catherine patted Grissom's shoulder, then pulled Simone out of the room, making the younger girl stumble on her heeled shoes. They met with the writing anaylist, and Grissom came down to the garage after a while.

"The person who wrote this is left handed." The Anaylist said. Grissom glanced at Simone. She'd said that when they were going to get the case slips from his office.

"How can you tell?" He asked.

"The 'T' bar in 'Catch' is left tending. And uneducated. The contraction in 'I've' is misplaced." The anaylist pointed out his reasoning. "Then we have the large arched hood on the letter 'Y' and the arches on the bottom of the 'L's this indicates criminal tendency, which is supported by the heavy pastiosity, which suggests low impulse control."

Catherine looked at Simone, who seemed to be the only one to know most of what was being said.

"Heavy Pastiosity?"

"Pressure," Simone responded to Catherine, instantly. "How hard you put pen to paper. Or, in this case, marker to metal."

The Anaylist looked a little put off by the knoledgable Doctor Sanders.

"Anything else?" Grissom's question, though directed at Simone, was snatched up by the Anaylist in an attempt to best her.

"Yes. The writing is overall cursive, and round."

"That means the writer is most likely a woman." Simone blinked innocently at the anaylist, who glared at her. She shrugged.

An hour later she was in the lab with Greg, nibbling on carrots that she got from the fridge in the break room.

"So you and Grissom confiscated the door to a bathroom stall?" Greg reached for a carrot, satisfied with the crunch that it made when his teeth sunk into the orange vegatable that could turn you orange as well as improve your eyesight.

"Yep. Cath is off researching to see if anything else like that message was found in other bathrooms."

"And I succeeded in my search." Catherine knocked on the door, revealing Grissom and herself. "Come on, blondie."

Simone hopped up and kissed her brother's cheek, handing him the rest of the carrots.

Catherine had found four other doors, all from different places.

"I've killed one woman. Victorville." Grissom began. "Salt Lake City, I've killed two women, catch me if you can. San Burnadino, I've killed three women. I've killed four woman, catch me Mesquite. Five women, Las vegas."

"Five supermarket restrooms, five missing women, including Margeret Shorey."

"Cath, what did you find out about the five other crime scenes?" Simone took a step closer to the doors.

"Same as Marty's Market. No indication that the women were killed there."

"Which means the women were alive when thses messages were written." Grissom observed Simone's advancements. "Making these messages of intention, not fact."

"Hey." Simone had made her way to the doors, and was looking back and forth at the names on the top, where the doors were found. "What if we move these doors like Dominos?"

She began moving the doors around, lining them up in the way she'd seen before. On maps.

"San Burnadino, California, Victorville, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, Mesquite, Nevada, Salt Lake City, Utah."

Catherine's Jaw dropped.

"Interstate 15!"

Simone nodded.

"God knows we've all driven it enough times. But so has our suspect."

Nick was with Greg, who was sitting on a compression block, with paper and Kristy Hopkins' blouse underneath it. Nick had worked a case with Kristy Hopkins before. He'd told Simone about her one of the many nights he sat alone with her in her room, holding her to scare away her nightmares.

"Okay," Greg hopped down. "Should be done!"

He pulled up the wood block, and took the Paper and original shirts from under it. He forced Nick to hang the paper shirt up.

"I've done this process with jeans and leather jackets. But never something like this!" Greg covered his eyes with the material. "It's very see-through. Very...Jennifer Lopez." He put it to his chest and did a little Jig.

Nick smirked and pulled the blouse away.

"Down, boy. Now can you tell me if there's saliva on it?"

"It's not that easy. This was only step one. When a person talks, saliva naturally comes out of their mouth. Let's say me and you are tossing the hog back and forth. What can you tell me about the hottie who goes with this blouse and pulls your eye away from my beautiful little sister, which hurts her, by the way? Is it true she's a friend of yours?"

Nick winced at the hurting Simone comment, then scoffed. "What, is it on the internet?"

"May as well be," Greg smirked. "Just remember," He pulled a small spray bottle of starch and iodine out of the drawer. "My saliva's getting on you, your saliva's getting on me."

"Gross," Nick sighed. Greg went around him and began spraying the paper shirt with the S&I solution. "What's that stuff?"

"Startch and Iodine!" Greg exclaimed. "If this is saliva, We're going to get the old dalmation effect."

There was a long pause.

"So, Nick. If I wanted to meet this friend of yours-"

"No," Nick growled.

"Jeeze." Greg glared. "Wow Nick. Wow. Thought you loved Simone."

"I DO!" Nick glared right on back.

"Well start _ACTING_ like you do. You keep picking up other chicks, First Secula, now this one. What a way to show your love for my sister, by sleeping around." Nick dropped his gaze to the floor, ashamed. "There's a pretty big spot on the shirt. More then just the spray. Looks like a distinct glob of spit."

"So Kristy was telling th truth. But that doesn't mean the security gaurd's spit."

"Step three."

"I'm going to need a sample.

"Well if the guy knows he did it, he's not just going to cough it up!"

"If you saw the girl that goes with this blouse, you'd try. Just like if I saw Simone, in this blouse, I'd sure as hell be putty in her perfect little hands."

Greg didn't say a thing.


	15. Chapter 15

"Flip you to see who drives," Catherine intercepted Simone and Grissom in the hall.

"Where we going?" Simone asked.

"Moapa."

"What's in Moapa?" Grissom wondered, looking at the two women.

"Besides the I-15?" Catherine laughed.

They came upon the crime scene in Moapa. Some Kid had found a body.

Jim approached Simone and Grissom, while Catherine went to the back to get the kits. Two black, her's and Grissom's, and a silver one on top of those, Simone's.

"So my guys tell me your guy Nick is helpin a working girl at a five star." He confronted.

Simone growled.

"Must have made quite a commotion." She snapped, crossing her arms.

"It was, Kiddo."

"Really?" Grissom didn't sound all too concerned.

"Yeah, well if I know, it means a whole lot of other people know. People a little bigger then you and me. A boy from the crime lab, doing favors for a hooker cant look too good, huh, boss?"

"Yeah, you can stop now," Simone sighed.

"I'll get into it." Grissom promised.

"I'm sure that's what Nicky said."

"STOP!" Simone ordered.

Catherine walked by.

"You girls done talking?"

Simone stormed off after her.

"Okay, the kid over there stopped to take a leak, found the body." Jim stated.

"It's not Margeret. This one is blonde." Catherine looked closer at the corpse.

"She's blue, too." Simone, wearing her latex gloves, touched the woman's shoulder. "Cold."

"In this heat?" Jim was appaled

"Stiff," Simone ignored Jim. "Like a two minute burrito, nuked for under a minute."

"What's with you and Greg with food anaolgies?" Catherine laughed.

"We get hungry."

They got the woman to autopsy.

"Meet Joan Simms from San Burnadino, California. We've been getting aquainted." Dr. Williams informed.

"Missing woman number one. Went missing in a super-market restroom last July."

"I determined cause of death to be strangulation in the field. Ligiture marks on the wrists and ankles. I assume that's the easy part?" Simone looked at Dr. Williams expectantly.

"Yes. It's weird."

Simone's phone alerted her to a text, from Greg, saying it was lunch time.

"Grissom, I have to go. I promised Greg," Simone waved her phone. When he nodded, she grabbed the case file and autopsy report that Dr. Williams was handing to her. "Thank you!"

She met up with Greg, and they drove to the diner, seating themselves as the sign in the front ordered them to.

"So...Kristy Hopkins?" Simone asked. Greg coughed nervously. "Well, I just assumed, seeing as she's the only hooker Nick can honestly say he knows."

Grissom sent her a text saying 'Refrigerator Truck; BOLO.' Simone texted back an ok.

"He freaked out about me and my comments." Greg sighed.

Simone sighed and lay her head down. Greg sighed too and moved to his sister's side of the booth, pulling her into a tight hug. He shivered at the feeling of her tears, staining his shirt as she cried silently into his chest.

"He'll come to his senses, Bear. If he doesn't I'll knock it into him." The waitress came over and Greg ordered two chocolate shakes, Two burgers, and a serving of fries.

Simone had ceased her crying by the time the food arrived, Greg was back on his own side.

They talked amiably before another text from Grissom asking what a female truck driver they suspected should write for a sample.

She responded back with 'I've got a kite. Can you see the women? Kill the lights.' She also requested she get the sample, rather then the jealous anaylist.

They arrived back at the lab in time to get the sample from the fax machine in Greg's lab. Simone looked at the picture of the writing, and sighed, calling Catherine.

"Let her go."

"Are you sure?"

"Let her go, the writing is different. Get me from Greg's when you get back."

"Okay. Thanks."

Catherine hung up, and Simone sat up on the lab table. She looked out the window and saw Nick outside, talking with Kristy Hopkins. She saw him smiling, and Kristy grabbed his shirt as she laughed.

Kristy put her hand on Nick's chest.

"You know, I'd invite you out for coffee, but, it's probably not a good idea."

"Yeah," He agreed.

"Yeah." She sighed. "But I can call you sometime! In case I ever get into trouble."

Nick grinned.

"Well maybe you should try not getting into trouble? You do owe me one."

"I owe you two." She told him. A moment of silence passed before Kristy leaned up and pressed a kiss on his cheek, dangerously close to his lips. Lips which Nick new belonged only to Simone, so he backed away.

"You know where to find me." With that, he walked away.

Simone sighed, having witnessed the whole interaction. It caused her heart to ache. She didn't have enough time to care, though, because Catherine burst in and dragged Simone out.

The met with a woman from a refridgerated truck company, who shoed them, and Grissom, how they could track all the trucks via computer.

"Ever wonder if technology will make us obsolete?" Grissom asked the depressed girl and the excited woman.

"No," Catherine smirked.

"Can you eliminate all trucks that aren't ice trucks. That weren't in Las Vegas, yesterday, that only travel in state, that don't deliver to supermarkets along the I-15, and that didn't deliver to Marty's Market, yesterday." Simone didn't want to work longer then she had to. She just wanted to go home and be depressed.

The trucks all dissapeared, except one.

"That's our Guy!" Catherine exclaimed. Simone smirked.

"He travled to all the cities where all five women dissapeared! Well done Simone! Where is he now?" Grissom urged the woman. She locked on the man's location. Within the hour, they had aprehended the suspect and his girlfriend.

"GET AWAY FROM MY TRUCK!" The man yelled, as Simone went in, following Brass.

"It's not your truck anymore, it's our crime scene." Grissom told him. Brass came out and gave him the go-ahead.

Simone was joined on either side by her team members.

Stedily, they made their way into the back of the truck. Pulling the last freezer open, they all sighed in sadness. Three dead women lay in the freezer.

"We got three!" Catherine said loudly as she and Simone stepped off the truck.

Grissom made his way angrily to the suspect.

"Where is she?" The man refused to answer. "Where is Margeret Shorey?"

"Screw you, man." The suspect smirked.

"Look pal," Simone snapped. "I already know what happened. I even know your type. Nice, trusting middle aged women."

"Alright, listen," Brass wrapped an arm around the tow handcuffed individuals. "Which one of you two low lifes gets to make the deal? Huh?" He looked at the woman. "The difference between the chair or life in prison."

"He made me do it!" The woman broke before the eyes of the law enforcement.

The man tried to lunge for his girlfriend, but the uniforms pulled him away.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey," Brass wiped the girls teaars. "Where is she?"

The woman's eyes wandered, and that was all it took for Simone to take off in that direction. She climbed into the truck and began searching the sleeper. Grissom found a lock after minutes of searching.

"Locked. Keys?" Simone reached behind her and handed the keys to her boss. He got the lock open, and they pulled the top up. Margeret Shorey lay there, gagged and bound, crying.

"Hello Margeret," Simone smiled.

"I'm Gil. That's Catherine, and Simone."

"We're going to take you home." Catherine sighed in relief.

With the case now finished, Simone went into the break room. Nick sat there, drinking some coffee. She made to turn around again, but Nick stopped her.

"You're avoiding me."

"Yep," She turned and looked at him sadly. "Nick-"

"You saw me with Kristy." It wasn't a question.

"Yep. Now, as I was saying, I've been thinking. I- I don't think this is going to work for our job."

"What are you saying?" Nick asked her, standing very slowly.

"I think maybe we shouldn't- I don't think we should be friends, Nicholas. We'll be associates, and that's all. Work together to catch the bad guys. Pleasentries and such, but no personal connection."

Nick could tell by the look on her face that she was depressed and devastated, but she was also determined.

"Why?" Nick begged, wanting to reach over to her and whipe the tears that fell from the chocolate brown eyes.

"Because, Nick." She rose those eyes to meet his. "I can't do my job, if my hear is too busy breaking."

"Simone..." Nick trailed off, his own heart breaking.

"Good bye, Nicholas."


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: This skips Farenheit 932 and goes straight to Boom.

Simone worked. And I mean she _worked_. She didn't regret her decision to cut Nick out. She HATED it. But they'd made it a week without a word to each other.

Nick didn't hate her. He couldn't hate her. He longed for her. Her voice. Her laugh. Her touch. But he respected her wishes, and stayed away from her.

He just missed her.

A bomb had gone off in an office building. Grissom, Catherine and Simone arrived on scene.

"Man these fire guys really know how to wreck a crime scene."

"Mmm," Simone agreed to Catherines complaining.

Catherine looked at the girl with concern. She'd been wearing black more frequently. In fact, today she was wearing all black, aside from the white in her dress, the pink on her ring, and the neon yellow peeking out of her heels on her toes. The neon on her finger nails was covered with black crackle, so it hardly showed.

"That's what they do," Grissom ignored the lack of color, just like Greg did. Then again, they knew what had happened. Everyone else didn't. "Put the wet stuff on the red stuff."

They met Jim at the door to destruction, and he handed Simone a pair of work boots to change into. She smiled her thanks.

"We're all clear to go in, but here's what we got. Couple of head wounds. Elderly guy had his arm torn off. The only fatality is Jake Richards. Security gaurd. His body is still inside. So, uh...How big do you think this bomb was?" Jim was helping Simone over debris.

"It doesn't matter the size of the bomb, it's the over pressure in the air around it." Catherine corrected. When they got to the body, Jim crouched down. Simone stayed standing, not wanting her dress to become evidence...again.

"Why hello, Vincent." Simone mumbled, noticing the man's ears.

"Vincent?" Jim furrowed his eyebrows at her

"He's got the van Gogh effect." Grissom supplied, not really helping.

"Symetrical amputation. It means he was looking at the bomb when it went off," Catherine went into further detail.

"Which means it attracted his attention or was contained in something that seemed benign."

Simone lifted her gaze and flashlight to the ceiling.

"Smell the sulfer?" She asked quietly.

"Uh-huh." Catherine nodded.

"Do you have your lighter, Jim?" Grissom flicked open his pocket knife, and gathered a black substance on the tip. "Light that."

Jim did so, and the powder ignighted brightly.

"Gun powder," Catherine mused.

"Hmm." Simone sighed. "Well we know the propellant."

"Catherine, would you like to make a preliminary call?" Grissom asked. Catherine stood.

"Love to," She smirked. "Bomb blew here, tossed the gaurd three meters. His clothes are torn not burned, indicating a low velocity propellant. 60,000 feet per second."

Simone nodded in silent agreement.

"Who, why, will he do it again? Time will tell."

They had to wait for the rest of the team to get there, Grissom and Simone picking through debris.

"Dirty secret about bombs is how easy they are to make and use." Simone's voice was elevated, to be heard from her hunched over position. The only one not there yet was Nick, so she figured she'd just start talking.

"Our murder weapon is here someplace." Grissom added.

"Yeah," Simone scoffed. "In a thousand pieces."

"We have to find it and put it back together."

"Where do we start?" Warrick asked the two scientists that were seeming more and more like evil geniuses the longer they talked.

"If it ain't glowin', pick it up, bring it back to the lab."

"Then what?" Sara asked.

"Stay curious," Grissom shrugged. Then they walked away, ignoring the rest of the conversation.

Everyone began filling bags with evidence, while Warrick took pictures.

"You told me you weren't dating her," Grissom sighed.

"I wasn't until last night. I broke up a fight between her and this guy...Jack."

"Ecklie's at her house now." Grissom stated.

"Yeah, and I can tell you what he's going to find. My fingerprints, my DNA."

"What were you thinking, Nicky?"

"I was thinking- I was thinking that if I couldn't have Simone, I could have Kristy. But I just can't, can I?" Nick slumped further in his chair across from Grissom's desk. "We had a connection. A chemestry thing, I guess."

"As strong as the one you shared with Simone? Before she broke off from you?"

"No way. But Kristy was irresistable. I took off around four."

"Ecklie is going to be all over this."

A small knock came from the doorway, and Catherine entered.

"Hey Nick," She sighed. "I'm sorry to hear about your friend."

"Who told you?" Nick's head snapped up.

"Uh- word travles. It was the day shift corroner."

"So people know I was with Kristy last night?" Nick scoffed.

"Not yet," Catherine's eyes widened.

"Maybe I should just go to Ecklie, and tell him I was there." Nick sighed.

"When you're a suspect, and you're innocent, you keep your mouth shut."

Nick turned and saw Simone standing at the door, arms crossed. He turned slowly back to Grissom. At least she's speaking to me again.

"She's right. I'll talk to Ecklie."

"Bad Idea." Catherine said instantly.

"You and Ecklie, Oil and water." Simone shook her head.

"I'll get into it." Catherine stated.

"I can't just sit here." Nick stood.

"Okay." Grissom smirked. "Take Simone for a walk. She's been looking a little pale, lately. Maybe you'll bunp into your guy...Jack?"

"Yeah," Nick turned to Simone, who still had her arms crossed, watching him.

"ID him. Do not approach him. Simone, badge and gun?"

Simone lifted the skirt of her dress a little to reveal the leather holster on her thigh, holding both badge and gun. Nick inhaled sharply at the smooth skin inches from his reach.

'No, Nick. Respect Kristy, at least for a little while.' He scolded himself.

He followed Simone out of the room.

An hour later, she was groaning, and begging him not to do what he was thinking of doing.

He did it anyway. Barging into Catherine and Ecklie's conversation.

"Hey Cath!" He smiled at her. Then he turned to Ecklie.

"I don't think it's best you two talk to each other." Catherine warned.

"Oh, it's no big deal. What's up, Ecklie?"

"I need a DNA sample from you, Nick." Simone flinched.

"I assume you're trying to prove Kristy Hopkins and I were sexually active last night?" Simone once again flinched, and Cathe flinched inwardly, as well, because she knew the younger girl didn't want to hear obout the man she loved and his sexual encounter with a now deceased hooker.

"We found a condom. Used." Ecklie acutally enjoyed the pain he was causing Simon, smirking as she sighed and shook her head, hiding her face and sad eyes.

"My DNA will match. No warrent necessary. I also have this." He gestured to Simone. She handed over a slip of paper.

"Sanders, explination?"

"Is too complicated for you to understand." Ecklie gave Simone a look. "Oh, you meant the paper, not why you're so stupid. Okay."

"It's a liscense plate Number," Ecklie rolled his eyes at her.

"Vehical belongs to Jack Willman. Kristy's pimp." A sound of disaproval came from behind her. Simone turned to look at Nick. "Sorry, Nicholas, but that's what he fucking was. Get your head out of your ass for ten seconds! News flash! Prostitutes tend to have pimps!" She turned back to Ecklie, eyes fierce. "He was fighting with Kristy last night out side of the Orphius last night."

"I'll look into it for you Simone. But come on. Nick's finger prints? Nick's DNA? That's what's going into evidence."

"He liked her, Ecklie. He really did. I'd go as far as- as to say he loved her. This is Nick. He would never. You know it." Simone whispered.

"You think I want to believe that a CSI could commit murder? Hell. I don't even believe that a CSI could sleep with a hooker."

Nick scoffed. Simone grabbed him by his collar and silenced him, his head landing roughly on her shoulder. But it calmed him down, with her scent of Tropical Coconut Shampoo and Candy Apple Fantasy purfume wafting through his nose.

Ecklie rolled his eyes.

"Nick's personal life-" Catherine was cut off by the balding asshole.

"Is no longer personal. Look, I know you guys don't like what's going on, but tell me otherwise, show me I'm wrong. In the meantime, my hands are tied. I have protocol to follow."

Simone could feel Nick shaking with anger behind her, his hands finding her hips and clenching, then unclenching the material of her dress between his long fingers. He turned and began storming away the second Ecklie walked away.

"I hate that guy!" He said from behind clenched teeth.

"Yes, yes. Hate is a strong word."

"Look, I'm going to get a ride and track down this Jack guy for questioning. I'll take Simone with me-"

"No," Nick sighed. "Simone doesn't like Kristy."

"Weather I like Kristy or not, Nick." She stopped him and put her hand behind his neck, pulling his face down so she could kiss the ridge where his eyebrow met just before his temple. "I'd do it for you, and you know it."

Her words were just a whisper of breath. Catherine sighed in content at the displays of affection that had been missed the week of their silence to each other.

"Cath and I are out on a limb for you here, Tex." Simone cradled the base of his skull, feeling him relax. "Don't make me regret talking to you again by making thing go to hell with Ecklie."

"Keep touching me like that, and I'll do anything you say." Nick promised as she wove her fingers through the soft hair at the nape of his neck, sending tiny shivers of pleasure down his spine, to his toes and then up to another part of his anatomy. "I need you to know. I miss you. I miss you so bad. I promise not to be too troublesome, darlin'."

"Good boy," She kissed that ridge again, relaxing him further, and let him walk away.

"You've got him back," Catherine commented. "You're all he has to connect to, now."

"I'm just sorry it had to be this way that I got him back. She didn't have to die." Because it's tearing Nick up, inside, Simone added in her head.


	17. Chapter 17

They tracked Jack down, and he was sitting in the interrogation room. Ecklie walked in and stood between Simone and Catherine.

" We did priors." Catherine began. "He got an eighty eight conviction for sexual harassment."

"If I ever get in trouble, I know which CSI's to go to," Ecklie chuckled. Simone smirked.

"Let's watch the show, shall we?" Simone crossed her arms, and leaned all her weight on one foot.

A detective walked in and sat across from Jack. The first question he was asked, Jack spun a detailed lie about Nick strangling Kristy.

"You didn't try to help the girl?"

"He's one of you guys. He carries a gun." Was Jack's excuse. "Can I go now?"

"Yeah," The detective sighed.

"Witness sounds believeable." Ecklie smirked. Simone glared at him, brown eyes nearly red with the anger hidden in them.

"It's a load of bull shit, Ecklie!"

"I don't know," The tree turned to face the sheriff, standing in the doorway. "He seemed credible to me."

"He's a PIMP Sheriff." Simone scoffed. "Reeeeal cridible."

"You arrest Nick now, you end his career." Catherine pulled Simone behind her.

"So what can you offer me."

"Nothing except my gut, ten years of experience, and the way Nick interacts with Simone. He didn't do this."

"If you ignore the evidence against Stokes, it lookes like...special favors for CSI."

Simone's arm shot out and caught Ecklie in the gut.

"Conrad, your idiotic words are digging you quite a deep grave, and earning you the top spot on my shit list. Just before 'N Sync."

"Give us twelve hours to process the evidence, without filing the papers on Nick." Catherine reasoned.

"Twelve hours. But then we arrest Mr. Stokes with all the attending documentation." The Sheriff agreed, having taken one look at Simone's hopeful face. Then he walked out.

Sending Catherine a look, Ecklie followed out.

Catherine and Simone went into Greg's office. Greg, without looking up from his work or removing his headphones, pointed at his sister.

"Heels off in the lab!" Simone rolled her eyes and took off her heels for the second time that night.

"How you doing, Greg?" Catherine asked, smiling and slippin the head phones down.

"Same as you," Greg replied. "Worried about Nick."

"Yeah." Simone sighed. "We need the DNA from the crime scene, Teddy. Do you have it?"

"A sample from the condom, yeah. Popsicle in the freezer. But it's not your case. As much as I wanna help, no can do."

Simone put her head on her brother's shoulder, turning her face towards his.

"It's our case for the next twelve hours. Ask the Sheriff. Or Ecklie, he's a little pissed."

"You know sis," Greg grinned. "I've never doubted your word." He stood, and went to get the sample. "Nick's little soldiers." He smirked. "All you!"

Simone swatted at her brother's arm, taking his seat.

"Thanks, bro." She looked at the microscope. "Greg, when was the sample frozen?"

"10:15 AM, Why?"

"These guys are all heads, no tails."

"Well, that's normal for the post ejaculate time frame." Greg moved to look at the sample. Catherine and Simone shared a look. "But I don't see how that helps Nick." Greg looked up. His sister and Catherine were already out the door.

"Grissom!" Simone grabbed her boss by the arm, dragging him with them down the hall.

"What did you find?"

"The sperm found in the condom was found at 10:15 am. It's all heads." Catherine explained. "No tails."

"I'm not really up to date on-"

"It takes about seven hours for bacteria to eat away at the tails base at the time of ejaculation at about two am, but Kristy's time of death was at 6am." Simone rambled.

"Which suggests a lag between ejaculation and the time of the murder, but it doesn't disprove Nick's presence at the time of the homicide."

"Grissom, you should show a little team support," Simone shoved him lightly. She and Catherine picked up speed and walked away as Sara intercepted Grissom.

Catherine decided they should go to Kristy's, to process the scene themselves.

"You okay?" Catherine asked, when Simone went dead quiet, approaching the scene.

"I will be." She sighed.

They processed the scene in silence, until-

"Cath?" Simone was facing her window, her hands on her hips.

"Yeah?"

"Can you hand me the photos of Kristy's ligature marks?"

The picture was handed over, and Simone compared the mark around Kristy's neck with the sash holding apart the curtains.

"This is the murder weapon, Teddy," Simone dumped the white sash out of the evidence bag. "It's not good for prints but the killer would have left epithelials on it, right?"

"Abraided, yeah," Greg agreed.

"Can you extract DNA from epithelials?" Catherine's eyes widened.

"If their fresh enough."

Catherine gave Greg a hand motion that read clearly 'extract away!'

"It's a match for epithelials, and they're a go for extraction. Just need something to compare it too."

"Jack's a rapist, his DNA is on file."

Greg smirked and turned to his computer.

Less then half an hour later, they went to get Nick in the break room.

"Well?" he asked.

"I think we should all take a trip to the Sheriff's office," Catherine sighed, false sadness on her face.

Nick's hopeful face fell, when Simone collided with his chest, gripping his shirt tightly, burrowing her face into it. His arms fell around her waist.

"DNA didn't pan out, did it?"

"Never in life have the Sanders siblings seen such a perfect match." Simone smiled up at him, eyes twinkling. Nick gave her a confused gaze. "Jack Willman killed her," She elaborated, laying her head back on his chest.

Nick gave a sigh of relief, pulling Catherine over to them and hugging them both. He knew tears had sprung to his eyes, but he was relieved to be off the hook.

"Thank you," He whispered into Simone's hair, as she snuggled even closer.

"Hey," Catherine smiled, "Just doing our job!"

"Besides, if they sent you to jail I'd get stuck with all your cases." Nick laughed at Simone's humor. Catherine moved away so they could have their moment. Nick's hand dropped to her hip, squeezing gently, before he placed a kiss on her ear.

"Can we talk, again?" He whispered. "I can't take our silence. I need you Simone. I truly do."

"Hell yes. I'm not letting you out of my sight again! You may have gotten out of actual jail but now you're on house arrest!"

"I'm alright with that." He sighed. "I'm seriously alright with that."


	18. Chapter 18

"It's a Tibia," Simone shined a light on the bone in her gloved hand. "Or most of a Tibia."

"How long do you think It's been out here?" Catherine asked as she looked at the pitch dark desert around them.

"Ehh, long enough for the animals to pick it clean." Simone shrugged.

"And long enough for the elements to wash away any evidence." Catherine added.

"Evidence of what?" Grissom asked her.

"Well...It's a leg bone...I'm guessing it didn't just...walk out here by itself." Simone sighed at Catherine's response.

"Could have been a hiker who got lost." Grissom argued. Simone sighed again and tried to figure out what gender the bone was. "You always expect the worst!"

"You see that way I'm never disappointed! And sometimes I'm pleasantly suprised. So...Can we call it a crime scene?"

"Potential crime scene."

"Did you know the human body has 206 bones?" Simone inturrupted.

"Yes, professor, I too took osteology." Catherine smirked.

"Well, 205 more bones and I'll have a skeleton to examine. Find the rest of the bones and I can determine if it was a murder."

"Well I feel it in every one of my 206 bones, that this was a murder," Catherine told her.

"Catherine, Simone and I are on the case at Mt. Charleston. Nick we could really use your help with that."

"Outstanding!" Nick grabbed the paper Grissom handed over his shoulder.

"I just talked to the academy, we're getting an entire class of cadets down there to help." Catherine explained.

"All you guys got to go on is a bone?" Warrick asked them.

"Uh huh."

"The Tibia. Where there's one there's usually another," Simone snarked good naturedly.

"So we're gonna do a grid search and we really could use your friend Terri Miller." Catherine finished.

The progression of the group stopped.

"I don't think that's necessary." Grissom shrugged, confused.

"Well why not? She specializes in bones. All we have is a bone and Simone."

"Hey!"

Catherine grinned and shrugged.

"If we hit a wall, I'll call her." Grissom agreed.

"Okay," Catherine nodded. Progression started again.

"Sara Warrick, dead body in the lucky seven motel." Nick grabbed the slip back to Warrick.

"Is that the place with the weird pool?" Sara asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Simone laughed.

They left Warrick and Sara to discuss the case they pulled, as they went to their own scene.

Hours of walking and raising hands, and liking bones later, Grissom was looking at a star filled sky, Catherine and Simone were looking at a sea of silver flags.

"So, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I'm thinking that you're thinking what I think you're thinking about if I'm thinking about what you're thinking about. How bout you Grissom?"

"How amazing the universe is." Grissom sighed, smiling and shaking his head. "Everything is made out of the same carbon. Stars to trees. Trucks to human bones."

"No, I was thinking we have about a hundred bone fragments. We could ID this body before the end of the shift." Catherine told him. Simone giggled, pulling her bare arms into her sleeveless hoodie vest.

"Stars and trucks?" Simone turned her freaked gaze to Grissom. He smiled at her.

Grissom decided he, Nick and Catherine were to hurry Simone along by helping her put the skeleton together. Simone was the only one that didn't need the little charts that showed where the bones went.

An hour passed.

"That's the femur," Simone took it from Catherine and placed it in the correct spot. "And ankle bone, Medial malleolus."

"Goes on the bottom of the tibia?" Grissom asked, as he placed it down.

"That is correct!" Catherine smiled. "According to this book."

"I'll take toe bones for two hundred, Alex!" Grissom joked.

Another hour passed.

"All the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put humpty dumpty back together again." Grissom rhymed, clanging the pelvic bones together. Simone grabbed them and gave Grissom a look.

"Have we hit a wall yet?" Catherine complained.

"Nope." Simone placed the pelvic bone together, and then lay it carefully in it's place. "Judging by the pelvic bone, this was a male."

Catherine's eyes widened and she looked down.

And another hour.

"Hey Tex?"

"Yeah, babe?" Nick turned around to face simone from where he was standing at a desk. Simone was holding a mandible between her thumb and middle and forefingers.

"Let's post this on the dental society database and see if anyone responds."

Alright." He said.

And another.

"He was old," Simone told Grissom. "In his seventies, at least."

"Simone?" She looked at Grissom who had his head close to the bones. "Look at these jaggad marks on the bone." He held it up to her and she took it gently.

"Looks like cut marks." She told him.

"Wait a minute. This guy was chopped up. That's murder." Catherine tried not to laugh at her victory against Grissom.

"Not necessarily. Could have happened post mortom. One of those tractors up in the hills, or a mulching machine."

"A mulching Machine? How long do you plan on ignoring the obvious? A seventy year old man found in the mountains with clear evidence he was chopped to pieces? That's uh- homicide." Catherine ranted.

"Well," Nick, Grissom and Catherine turned to face the tall blonde woman standing next to Simone. "You should check for hemmoragic tissue around the area of the cuts...To be sure."

"Terri!" Grissom exclaimed, shocked.

"I Texted her after hour number two." Simone shrugged. "I told you I was."

"What were you saying about hemmoragic tissue?" Catherine asked.

"It's blood in the soft tissue," Simone supplied. "If you find it it means the guy was alive when he was cut up."

"Well, maybe you don't need me after all." Terri laughed.

"I would never turn away a scientist of your talent." Grissom told her. Simone bristled. "Simone, can I have a word outside, please?" He led her by the arm out of the room. Nick went to go get Grissom off of her, but Catherine held him back. Once outside, Grissom faced her. "You brought in a specialist without my consent?"

"Yes, Grissom, because you've begun to think I'm incapable of being the specialist. So you don't bring one in and possibly comprimise the case because you two had a relationship?"

"Relationship? I barely know that woman!" Grissom was apalled.

"Well, then I suppose the google eyes when she's around is just that! Here's the deal, Grissom. You were using cliffnotes to put that skeleton back together in there. If Terri is better than me, YOU say she's the best, we should let her help. But, hey! If you want me to send her away..."Simone snapped, putting her hands on her hips.

"Just...check with me about this stuff, will ya?" He stormed away before he got her answer.

"Right." She sighed. Then she made up her mind, charged into the room, grabbed the mandible, Nick, and Catherine and walked back out. She came back in again, sans mandible, and grabbed a bone from the wrist, and a bone from the foot, and switched them. "Cliffnotes don't get everything right." Then she left again, leaving a shocked Terri and Grissom.


	19. Chapter 19

"Looks like someone in the dental society database saw our posting." Nick Glanced at Simone, who held the mandible in her hand.

"Really?" She rose her eyes to meet his.

"Sid Tucker." he nodded.

"No way, a local dentist?" Cahterine exclaimed from Nick's other side.

"He's got records that go back thrity years!"

"Move!" Catherine pushed Nick out of his chair. He rolled his eyes and slipped behing Simone so he could see the mandible as well. "Hairline fissure of the mandibular canine.. God, why didn't I learn Latin?"

Nick smiled at Catherine.

"It's lower level, third from the middle." He wrapped his arms around Simone so he could point at the correct tooth. Catherine looked up at the two of them. Simone grinned and laughed into Nick's arm. Nick's own grin was sheepish. "Better memory than you."

Catherine scoffed playfully.

"That's also our first character match." Simone announced.

"Overlapping left incisors...That's the front teeth, right."

"Two for two," Nick nodded.

"Gold fillings. oh well I know that, he's got gold fillings, in adjoining right molars and interspersed in left molars. Tell me this is all we need?" Catherine looked at the comfortable CSIs next to her. Simone smiled.

"Nolan Ryan pitches another perfect game," Nick grinned, putting his chin on Simone's shoulder.

"And the winnner is..." Catherine pulled up the results.

"Mel Bennett, 326 Franklin Street, DOB, September 6th 1931. I was right. He was seventy." Simone grinned.

CSICSICSICSI

"Hey," Catherine opened the door to the room with the skeleton. "Man's name is Mel Bennett. We just Identified it, we're going to go to meet Brass at the widow's house."

"I have to go." Grissom said to Terri. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Nick would you and Simone stay here and work with this soft tissue stuff? Terri will explain it to you both."

"Sure," Nick responded.

"I don't need an explaination." Simone snapped. Grissom rolled his eyes, and he and Catherine left.

After a few minutes of silence, Nick sighed. He could feel the anger rolling off of Simone in waves.

"Scuse us, Ms. Miller." Nick sighed, grabbing Simone's arm gently, leading her out of the room, not forcing her like Grissom had earlier. When they got out of the room, Nick pushed her up against the wall gently and put his forhead against hers. "What's wrong?"

"Grissom's treating me like I don't have a doctorate in forensic anthropology! He keeps going on about Terri's amazing abilities and how she's an expert! I don't feel appreciated" Simone hissed. "I know I'm the one who called her, but I don't think I can work with her, Nicky."

"So don't. Work with Greg." Nick shrugged. "I can work with her alone, babe."

"Thank you, Nick."

Nick smiled and watched her walk away towards Greg's lab. Then he took a deep breath, and prepared to learn somthing he didn't want to learn from the older blonde that he wasn't in love with. He planed to talk to Grissom about this later.

CSICSICSICSI

Simone slipped silently into the interrogation room and sat across from the old woman seated there, and between Brass and Catherine. Grissom, Catherine and Brass had texted her to tell her that they had brought the widow in for questioning.

"I don't understand why you people are asking me these questions!" The old woman protested.

"Well, it's because someone killed your husband, Mrs. Bennett. And was strong enough to wield an electric saw to do it." Brass replied softly.

"But not so strong as to make clean cuts." Catherine added. Mrs. Bennett's mouth dropped open.

"I didn't kill Mel! I loved him!" She told them, looking at the four individual faces of the people in the room.

"Why didn't you report him missing? Were you used to him leaving? Did you fight much?" Simone asked. The woman's head shot to the younger one's face.

"Never," She shook her head. "We had the perfect marriage. Perfect."

"And you didn't report him missing for seven months...why?" Grissom snarked.

"I don't like your tone young man!" Mrs. Bennett snapped. Simone smirked. Looks like Grissom was getting on everyone's nerves today. Mrs. Bennett turned to Brass. "Detective, you said I could have an attourney at any time. I think I'd like one now."

"Oh, sure Mrs. Bennett, Sure," Brass handed over a piece of paper and a pen. "Just sign this form."

Mrs. Bennett's arthuritis was so bad, she needed both hands to sign the paper, and she still had trouble, even then.

They parted ways with Brass and went back to the lab. They ran into a leaving Terri on the way.

"Hey!" Grissom called.

"Hi," Terri smiled.

"Where you going?"

"Uh, I'm leaving."

"Town?"

"Oh, my God," Simone groaned quietly.

"Don't worry," Terri told him. "I was able to isolate some soft tissue from the preserved vertebrae. Nick is working on it now."

"Uh, well...Me and Simone will go check on him. Terri...You rule!" Catherine shook Terri's hand. Simone just walked past Terri with a soft goodbye.

Simone got to the lab seconds before Catherine, sitting at the microscope Nick seemed to be gaurding with his life. He was breathing down her neck the second she got there.

"You see the tissue?"

"I do." She laughed. She moved so Catherine could see.

"No evidince of blood." Catherine observed

"Which shows us that there was not blood pumping through Mel Bennett's veins when he was cut up." Nick draped his arm around Simone's shoulders.

"Which means that he was dead," She leaned futher into his side.

"Yeah." Nick agreed.

"So what does that leave us?" Catherine stood from the microscope.

"A spectrum of possibilities." Grissom's input inot the coversation made Simone jump. "The universe."

"Leaves me with a black widow," Catherine narrowed her eyes at Grissom.

That's how they got back into the interrogation room with Mrs. Bennett. And her monster of a lawyer.

"I'd like to thank the crime lab for discovering that Mr. Bnnett was already dead when she dissassembled him."

"Dissassembled?" Simone repeated.

"So she admits to taking a saw to her husband?" Catherine's question made the lawyer smirk.

"After he was dead, yes. As you know in Nevada, there is no law against cutting up a dead body."

"No law saying it's okay, either," Simone snapped. The lawyer grinned and shook her head.

"Does your client care to tell us how he came to be dead?" Grissom took the attention of the Lawyer onto himself.

"Well she has no idea." While the lawyer was explaining, Mrs. Bennett rose her eyes to Simone's. Simone had been the only one that was so obviously in love with someone. Mrs. Bennett could even tell the person wasn't in the room, however was in the building, just by the way Simone sat. "She came home from the grocers, and there he was, in the tub, deceased."

Simone stared back at the woman, who was observing the way she was seated. Simone was subconciously half turned toward the door, some of her weight leaning that way as well. As soon as she noticed this, she straightened up and faced Mrs. Bennett completely.

Mrs. Bennett turned to her lawyer.

"No, I want to explain!"

"Briefly, Mrs. Bennett." The lawyer sighed reluctantly.

"I couldn't afford the burial. So I got the saw, and I cut him into manigable pieces." She said this looking into Simone's eyes.

"Manigable?" Catherine asked.

"Mmm," She nodded.

"You made it easier to transport his body." Grissom sighed.

"Yeah. To Mt. Chaust."

The door opened and Jim Brass walked in.

"I called that whistle blowers line at the local treasury office. You know. the one that handles social security fraud? They were happy to help." He smirked at the lawyer as he handed Grissom, Catherine and Simone papers.

"Well Mrs. Bennett," Catherine sighed. "Can you afford the burrial now?"

"What are you talking about?" The lawyer demanded.

Catherine slid the paper to the lawyer.

"Social Security checks from the last two years."

"The signature is the same until seven months ago. QD matched the lady's writing. Mrs. Bennett." He turned to the woman. "You've been cashing your dearly departed checks, haven't you?"

"And that's freud." Grissom rose an eyebrow at her.

"It's also motive." Catherine added.

"You wanna alert the government about some forged social security checks, be my guest. But there's no murder, here. We're done." The lawyer began to pack up. "Come on, Mrs. Bennett." She led the older woman out the door. Simone sighed, and put her face in her hands.

They went out to eat, having been on this case for two days now and no break.

"Typical Vegas wife." Catherine complained. "Off's her old man for the money, and there's nothing we can do about it!"

"We have to go back to the body," Grissom stated.

"Right. Because there's always a clue. Except...We don't have a body!"

"We have bones." Simone's smirk was confident.

It rushed them back to the lab. Grissom and Catherine were breathing down her neck as she took the samples. She rolled her eyes and handed Grissom the bone, going to give the sample she took to Greg.

"Skeletal muscle of Mel Bennett goes in...contents come out. In about thirty seconds...BIOASSAY. I like saying that word." Greg grinned at his sister.

"Bioassay?"

"Sounds Nubian." He liked Nubian words.

"Ahh," Simone just continued to look at him as though he had gotten the idiotic part of the gene pool.

"So I heard Grissom's lady friend was in town."

"Lady friend? I wouldn't know anything about that."

"Really? I thought you knew everything about everyone in the lab?"

"I do." Simone gave her brother a look, daring him to continue the conversation.

"Private. Got it...What are we having for dinner tonight?"

Simone grinned at him and giggled. The results came back, and Greg looked at the paper.

"Huh...Digoxin."

"Digoxin?" Simone took the paper out of his hands, and running to find Catherine.

CSICSICSICSI

"We know your husband had an overdose in his system." Grissom told Mrs. Bennett. "We found it in his bone tissue."

Mrs. Bennett nodded. They were all in her living room.

"Did you kill him for his pension checks?" Catherine asked.

"Don't answer that question."

"It's okay." Mrs. Bennett cut the lawyer off. "Mel took those pills himself. He asked me to leave the house so he could do it."

"So now it's suicide?" Brass cast a glance at a sick looking Simone.

"He was dying from the heart problem. He was in chronic pain. He asked me to get it over with but I couldn't. I loved him."

Grissom sighed and scrubbed at his eyes.

"This is the part I'm having trouble understanding. You were able to cut him up when you realized you couldn't afford the burrial?"

"I lied about why." She admitted.

"Mrs. Bennett dont-"

"No, let me talk." She cut her lawyer off again. "Mel made me promise to hide his body. So I wouldn't loose the social security benefits."

"Because the wifes benefits are cut in half when the husband dies." Simone sighed.

"Yes. Even if you spent fifty years by his side. Packing his lunch. Pressing his work pants. Mel was my whole life. I didn't kill him." Mrs. Bennett began to cry. "I couldn't even put him out of his misery."

After a short disgussion outside, they decided that Mrs. Bennett should go free, as they'd never decide who gave the fatal dose of Digoxin. Catherine and Simone had given the good news, and then Simone drove back home, ready to sleep, then go to work and start the paperwork later.

When Simone go home, there was a basket on the front porch with a blanket over it. Her eyebrows furrowed. She leaned down after she opened the door and turned on the light. Moving the blanket to the side, Simone gasped.

Sitting there, with a sign that said "At least I appreciate you" was a Border Collie/Lab mix puppy.

"Like it?" Nick came around from the other end of the house.

"Oh, my God, Nick!" Simone picked the puppy up, snuggling it.

"I'll take that as a yes," Nick laughed. "He's already house trained. That was Greg's only condition."

"Does he have a name?"

"No, not yet." Nick scratched behind the puppy's ears. "I figured I'd wait until you chose."

"How about...Dallas?" Simone grinned at the shocked look on Nick's face. "It's only fair that I name him some what after you, Nick."

Nick stared at the woman who had somehow managed to capture his heart. He placed his hands on her elbows, bringing her closer.

"Nick..." Simone licked her lips. Nick's eyes dropped to her lips to follow the movement. He began to inch foreward, stuck in the spell cast upon him by her eyes. Her entire presence.

The first kiss they shared since the diner caused fireworks to explode behind her eyes once she'd closed them. It was more full of passion, holding their real feelings for each other, rather than just Nick's desperate attempt to sway Raymond's feelings.

Dallas made a whining noise, pushing his head in between them, and breaking them apart.

"Be mine, Simone." Nick whispered, dropping his head to kiss her forhead.

"Only if you're mine." She replied, tilting her head up and nuzzling under his chin.

"I've always been yours. No matter what I was doing or who I was with."

Dallas whined again, needing attention, and Simone laughed.

"I'll go." Nick sighed, kissing her gently again. He waited until she was beyond the doorway with the puppy and the basket he came in to take a step back.

"Good night Nick." Simone smiled when she said his name.

"Night, Simone." He didn't begin to walk away until Simone shut the door.

She turned around once she had, and gasped. Greg was standing behind her with his PJ's on, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. She put the dog on the ground so that he could explore the house.

"You and Nick kissed. Bow chica wow wow!"

"Greg...Grow up, man!"

"NEVER!" He launched himself at his sister. Dallas began barking as Simone shrieked and laughed. In the house next door, the elderly couple that were known as the Sanders' neighbors were in bed. The husband looked up from his news paper and groaned.

"Those kids are at it again, Marge."

"Go to sleep, Frank." His wife hit him with a pullow.


	20. Chapter 20

Their next case called for all of them. There was a dead girl in the pool at Portia Richmond's mansion.

"Okay, like I said this is a big party and a big house, so we're going to divide and conquer." Grissom ordered. "Nick, Simone, you do the over sketch. Warrick and Catherine, you take the pool area."

Nick nodded and grabbed Simone's hand, lacing their fingers together. The action brought a gentle smile to Simone's face.

"How much do you think it costs to feed those fish?" Nick asked, once they stopped at the pond of Piranha Fish. Grissom, who was right behind them, shined his light at Nick's other hand, which was holding a sketch pad. "Oh, right."

Simone giggled, Nick cleared his throat.

After taking the sketch, they walked along the edge of the pool. Nick chuckled at Warrick, who was getting evidence from inside the pool.

"Marco!" He laughed.

"Polo." Warrick rolled his eyes before wiping water from them.

"You wanna get out of there, Sir? Pool closed at sundown," Simone smiled as she held a hand out for Warrick. She pulled him out of the pool. Warrick laughed.

"Want a towel, Sir?" Catherine joined in the mocking.

"Yeah, please!" Warrick shook out his hair, splashing Simone in the process.

"What'd you find, War?" She ran a hand through her hair to rid it of any droplets.

"Looks like a cuff link." He responded. "Initils CM."

"Turqoise and Silver." Catherine commented.

"Breaks down the regionallity to the southwest, maybe. Arizona, New Mexico, Texas," Simone shrugged, bumping hips with Nick.

"Good catch, pal." Grissom complimented Warrick. "You get the guest list. Check for CM's."

Warrick nodded.

"I'm gonna be wet all night." He complained. Nick nodded and smirked. Warrick splashed him, and Simone laughed.

They found out who the floater was. Lacey Duval. She was a showgirl. Grissom and Catherine took Simone to go interview her boss at the Rio.

"Lacey Duval murdered? She was here last night." The man couldn't believe it.

"Can you put us in touch with someone who was close to her?" Catherine asked.

"Sure Rachael Carson. They were best friends. Like sisters. She's in back." He pushed Grissom out of his way. Simone followed after, Catherine following her.

"Close your mouth," They ordered Grissom as one voice.

"She was seeing some rich married guy."

"He have a name?" Simone asked Rachael.

"Yeah, but she didn't tell me. You know it's weird. He refused to tell her anything about him. Anything. I told her it gave me the creeps, but...I couldn't talk to her, you know?"

"Turned on by the mystery and the sex," Catherine nodded. Grissom was behind his girls, looking through Lacey's stuff. Judging by his reaction to the showgirls, Simone decided to watch him carefully.

"Hi." Grissom looked up to see a showgirl standing there next to him as he was putting on his gloves. "You need a hand with that?"

"Uh...No thanks, I'll be fine."

"Are you a doctor?"

"Of sorts...I'm just um...looking around."

"See anything you like?"

Grissom looked the girl up and down, though it was in his observent way.

"Yes." he responded. It made Simone laugh quietly because she knew it he was talking about the evidence he'd found. "I do." He sat down and grabbed a wooden box. The showgirl gave him a look and walked away. Simone smiled at her as she passed.

Grissom opened the box and Simone recognised the tune as the one that most Carosauls played.

"Catherine! Tchaikovsky's Waltz of the Flowers." Simone called.

"That's right." Grissom stated. He looked at the bottom of the box and smiled.

"Okay...What's with the smile?" Catherine asked.

"It's playing our song."

This new evidence caused Grissom to sit in his office and stare at the box until he figured it out. Simone didn't have anything better to do, so she just sat in the corner reading one of Grissom's bug books.

"Let me guess," Catherine walked in. "You're wondering why Lacey Duval has a music box engraved to Portia Richmond."

"Gee, ya think?" Simone turned a page, glancing up and smiling at Catherine. "He hasn't thought of it being as simple as they new eachother and she gave it to her."

"Well if they knew eachother, why wasn't she on the guest list?"

Neither Catherine nor Simone had an answer for him.

"March 7th 1969 mean anything to you?"

"No." Simone shook her head. "But it obviously meant something to the Richmond's."

"You know, when me and Eddie were first married when things were kind of good, on the anniversary of the day we first met he'd always get me a lace teddy."

"Ewwww." Simone covered her face with the book.

"Well, I mean it's not a music box...Or a puppy- but-"

"Music box lace teddies, it's all the same thing. It's tradition." Grissom shrugged. Everyone knew about Nick and Simone. Honestly no one cared. It didn't effect their work. Just like their flirting never had. "And the joy of tradition is in the constant repitition."

"Right." Catherine smiled.

Nick came and grabbed Simone soon after that, to talk with Sara and him to Greg's lab.

"What am I a walking food and beverage at one of the hotels? I haven't had a day off in three weeks! I mean if you're going to call me in, throw me a bone! Give me the 4-19 in an elevator!" Sara complained as the walked.

"Someone's bitter." Nick chuckled, slipping his elbow through Simone's.

"I'm tired." Sara pouted.

"You, tired? I though you never sleep!" Nick protested playfully as Sara yawned hugely. "Haha, nice, very nice." They walked into Greg's lab where he was jamming out to The Creed.

"Hey, G!" Simone kissed her brother on the cheek. Greg wiped his cheek with a big ass grin on his face.

"You're awake, I hate you." Sara sighed.

"Couple of glasses of Merlot, a rack of lamb on our day off, Me and Simone slept like babies yesterday." Greg laughed. "You look horrible."

"Thanks, Greg." Sara replied dryly. Greg smiled and looked at Nick.

"Don't look at me. I got sunshine all night." Nick glanced at Sara, who glared right back. "Check for DNA in the sexual assult kit and fingernails, Please."

"Everything has to be in CODIS ASAP." Sara added.

"Oh is that all? I wanna know who's going to authorize my overtime?"

"Suck it up, Greg," Sara walked away. "You're well rested."

"Either of you want a valium for her?" Greg glanced at the door Sara just walked out of.

"I heard that!" Sara called.

Nick smiled and cleared his throat, pulling his girlfriend out of the room. Simone waved goodbye to her brother.

They found Sara sitting on the couch in the break room. Nick held a cup of crappy coffee under her nose.

"No, I can't drink anymore coffee, My body clock is so screwed up. I just want a steak, and a shot." (A/N: I assume she meant an alchoholic one.)

"Tut's tomb. Steak and eggs." Nick stated.

"Dollar ninty nine." Simone added.

"Food?"

Simone took Nick's wrist and took a sip of the coffee in his hand.

"Mmm." She nodded as she drank.

"Good idea! You're right!"

Greg suddenly burst through the door, all hyper and excited.

"IT'S WHAT I LIVE FOR!" He began. "You guys are never gonna believe this. You ready?"

"So much for the steak! Just- I'll take the coffee." Sara gestured to Simone, who nodded and handed it over.

Greg began rambling, and the only one who seemed to understand any of the excited babble was Simone. Nick grinned as she nodded along to what Greg was saying, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest.

"Oh, really?" Simone asked, tilting her head to the side as Greg finished. Nick couldn't resist his urge to lower his head and kiss her shoulder through her shirt.

"Man, I'm happy you two got together and everything but can't the forplay wait until the bedroom?" Greg complained. Simone stiffened in Nick's arms, and Nick groaned and pulled away, smacking Greg in the back of the head.

"Way to go, Greggo. Can't go a day without reminding her of _him_ and what _he did_ can you?"

"Sorry, Simone," He sighed. "BUT!" Greg faced Nick again. "Arthur is like, one of her best friends now!"

"That's true," Simone shrugged.

"Anyway, Simone, you speak fluent Greg. What did he say?"

"He said that the sexual assault kit on our dead show girl came back positive for seman, however, DNA traced back to a cold case in Texas."

Greg got excited again.

"A dead cheerleader!" He grabbed his sister by the arms, and jumped up and down with her. "Ten years ago!"

Nick laughed at Greg's strange mind.

"Two for one!"

"Okay, I'm up, now," Sara sighed.

"YEAH!" Greg grinned, running out of the room. Simone put a hand to her head and giggled.

CSICSICSICSI

"Man, we need a raise for this," Greg complained to Simone as they were looking at the assumed tooth of Portia Richmond.

"Greg...Why don't you start the DNA profile on the tooth, so we can just tell if it's Portia Richmond." Catherine sighed.

"Okay, well, getting the DNA from the tooth will be easy. What are we supposed to compare it to?"

"What about the hair brush and tooth brush we took from the vanity?"

"Go talk to the dead end twins over there." Simone gestured to the microscopes.

Grissom and Catherine examined them.

"Nothing," Catherine's eyebrows furrowed.

"So either she's extremely hygenic, or-"

"Someone did some thorogh spring cleaning." Simone smirked.

"If you want to know if it's Portia, you gotta get the DNA somewhere." An hour after Greg said this, Catherine came back with Portia Richmond's head-dress from her showgirl days. Simone, however, was back with Nick and Sara.

A beep came from the computer Sara had been staring at for three quarters of an hour.

"Bingo! Well, that only took 45 minutes!" She turned to face Nick and Simone, who were on opposite sides of the desk in the room.

"What'chu find?"

"A hit off of Patrick Haynes' social security number. There's only one problem." Sara told them. "He's an eight month old infant that died ten years ago."

"Same social...you're sure?" Nick asked.

Sara and Simone both gave him a look.

He nodded and opened up the book in front of him. He found what he was looking for almost instantly.

"BAM!"

"Something good?"

"Oh, yeah!" Nick grinned. He went to go find Grissom. When he came back, he told them that Patrick Haynes was Chad Matthews. Initils CM.

Catherine came in, and they started looking through Portia's credit card statements.

"Well, Portia hasn't spent a dime since she's been in the Medirratanean." Catherine stated.

"Yeah, she's dead," Sara stated from Catherine's otherside. Simone was sitting next to Nick across from them.

"Not necessarily. She could have been swept off her feet."

"Yeah," Simone inconspicuously placed her hand on Nick's inner thigh under the table. "Some guys still like to foot the bill."

"She's right," Nick sighed, placing his hand on top of hers before she started moving it higher.

"Really?" Sara smirked. "How would you know, Nick?"

"Hey, I only go dutch if girls ask the wrong question." Nick defended himself.

"And what question is that? Simone, I'm sure you know?"

Simone grinned and leaned close to Nick's face.

"What do you drive?" She placed a delecate kiss on the corner of his mouth, moving her hand as she sat back again.

"It's an honest question," Sara laughed.

"No! No, it's not!" Nick protested. "What it means is how much money do you make so you can take care of me?"

"Well not this girl," Sara pointed to Simone.

"Boys and girls," Catherine was holding a check to the light. "We've got ourselves a forgery."

"Oooh. Either that or a dimpled ballot." Nick observed the deep lines the signature made.

"Well, his name is Chett."

"Let's connect the dots, shall we?" Simone took check. "Catherine, you have earings on today. Can I see?"

"Sure, but they've been on for a week. Can't account what's on it." Catherine placed the earing in Simone's palm.

"Sara, sign your name." Simone ordered.

"Okay," Sara signed her name on a blank piece of paper.

"See no one signs their name exactly the same twice. If they do, it's a forgery." Nick explained. Simone began putting dots along Sara's signature.

"So you put dots on the curves and the lines of the signature. Connect the dots."

"And you have yourself a forgery." Catherine finished.

"Well that's scary. All you need is one signature to break sombody!" Sara flipped between her signature and the forgery.

CSICSICSICSI

They were all eating lunch at a fancy resturant.

"Who picked this place?" Nick was trying to ignore Simone's ultimate game of footsie. Her bare, shoeless feet were currently sitting in his lap, and he was massaging her foot with the hand not occupied with his fork.

"I did!" Catherine told him indignantly. "I thought it'd be nice."

"Well you can pick up the tab." Brass stated "Anyway, let's talk motive."

"Let's" Simone agreed, wiggling her toes, and having the satisfaction of seeing Nick blush. "I don't think a forged signature is a slam dunk for murder."

"Hey, did anyone tell Grissom where we were eating lunch?"

"Yeah, Dispatch left him a message," Sara joked.

"He probably thought it was the sheriff and ignored it."

"Right," Simone giggled.

"This Chilean sea bass? Wonderful!"

"So's this," Catherine agreed with Sara.

"Okay," Simone began, taking a bite of her Salmon. "You've got your missing widow. He tooth, found in her own bedroom. He house currently occupied by two moes."

"'Moes' I'm rubbing off on you, Kiddo," Brass stole a bite of Simone's food.

"No, you're not! And stay away from my salmon!"

"And one of our moes has six names that we know of, including Chad Matthews." Nick added,

"Right, Right. And we've got a cuff link with the initils CM found in the bottom of the pool."

"Along with a floating showgirl." Simone placed her feet back on the floor to slip her shoes back on.

"Who was sleeping with six men rolled into one; Patrick Haynes." Sara nodded.

"Okay, so Patrick Haynes! He commited a murder 10 years ago why give up the DNA so easily?"

"Exactly!" Simone took a sip of her sprite. "You can change your name but you can't change your blueprint!"

"Right on, baby girl!" Nick took a sip of his coffee.

"Rsik versus reward. You sleep with someone, you kill them, heat's on and you flee."

"Or," Simone looked at Sara. "You roll the dice, maybe get your cookie."

"What's the cookie?" Nick asked her.

"The cheese, brother," Brass informed. "Maybe the 1.6 mill that they raised at that charity event."

"The Haynes controlled Portia Richmond's bank account, including the burn center account." Catherine explained. "But they had to stick around for the checks to clear."

"So...Why kill Lacey Duval?" Sara asked.

"Excelent question my Dear Watson. Allow me to think on that." Simone told Sara.

"I don't know, but if Lacey Duval hadn't been murdered, Patrick Haynes reinvents himself, becomes another skippy in another state, 1.6 mill richer."

"Now, time out! I had half a ceaser and a coffee, how's my end twenty bucks?"

"Wanna go Dutch, babe?" Simone smirked.

"Excellent idea, darlin'! See? You're catching on."

"Brass, cough it up. Cover Nick's too, you had the Tiramisu." Catherine ordered, as they all got ready to leave.

"You know, I hate going out to lunch with you CSI's. You notice everything!"

Simone Patted Brass' shoulder as she passed.

CSICSICSICSI

Simone collapsed onto her couch, Greg not home yet. Which means Nick collapsed with her, turning them around so that they were laying with her on top of him.

"Well that was a fun case." He sighed.

"Oh, yes, Nick. Incest makes the world go round. It also makes people feed former showgirls to Piranah fish." Simone nodded, eyes closed. Nick chuckled then let out a low whistle. The sound of paws on Simone's wooden bedroom floors, and then the sound of those paws going up the metel spiral staircase that lead to that room reached their ears.

Dallas jumped up on the couch and set upon licking Simone's face excitedly.

Simone laughed and cuddled her puppy close to her, kissing the top of his head.

"Give Nick kisses, Dallas." In second's, Nick was covered in doggy slobber.

"Eyuck!" Nick laughed. Then he paused, putting the dog back on the floor. He sat up and looked at Simone carefully.

"Nick?" Simone asked.

"Hmm?"

"Stay with me tonight?"

Nick smiled and tangled his hand in her hair, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"Alright."


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: VincesDirtyGirl: I ended it there because the chapter was already over 2,000 words, Simone isn't ready for the sex yet, despite always turning Nick on at random times and points throughout the chapter, and they've only been dating for a week. They didn't do anything. THey basically just slept. PS: Your review name makes me laugh.

Grissom, Nick, Simone and Sara all got out of the Tahoe, Nick with a camera, and Simone wirh one boot in her hand, hopping as she put it on.

"Hey," Sara greeted Brass.

"Here's what I know so far," Brass began as Simone caught up, bracing herself on Nicks strong forearm to keep herself upright. "Victim was a well dressed woman, young, black. She's at Desert Palms hospital, multiple gun shot wounds to the head, possible sexual assult." Everyone looked to Simone at those words. They didn't seem to phase her. "Doctor has her at death iminant."

"Sara and Simone, I want you at the hospital to process the victim. Sexual Assult kit, hairs, fibers, the works." Grissom ordered. Simone nodded and kissed Nick on the cheek, as Sara started to complain.

"Right now? I thought I'd help you guys with the scene?"

"Evidence won't last long at the ER, Sara." Simone told her.

"Walk in the park guys."

"So let's go take a walk, Sare. See you, Tex, Bossman. They got in the car and drove to the hospital. Simone had gone silent halfway through the ride, and Sara didn't mind too much. They were both just lost in their thoughts.

They walked right up to the detective they were working with.

"Hey," Sara greeted. Simone was trailing behind her.

"Hey," He responded.

"You get any ID on her?"

"No, she's a Jane Doe." He glanced back into the victim's room. "She's got two bullets lodged into her brain and the Doctors can't get it out without killing her."

"Alright," Sara sighed. They made their way into the room, the Detective had the nurse shut the door behind her.

"Sara?" Simone called quietly. The brunette looked up at her expectantly. "She's married. Or recently divorced."

There was a band of discoloration on her left ring finger.

Sara took the womans hand and sighed.

"She's warm."

Simone nodded.

"They all feel different, Sara. The bones, different than the corpses, the corpses different than the living."

Sara looked from Simone to the woman, then turned to the detective.

"Uh, Evans?" He looked up at her. "We're going to need a little privacy."

"Right," He nodded and left the room, smiling at Simone as he did so. They were friends, they'd worked together before.

Simone and Sara each took one side as they began the evidence collection in silence.

They got down to the bottom, and Sara took the metal instrument that needed to be used for the assult kit.

"I never really liked this part of the exam. These things are always freezing." Sara told their Jane Doe. Simone had started talking to her half way through the collection, and Sara followed suit.

Simone took the instrument from Sara.

"Catherine does-" She cut herself off by cupping the metal in her hands and blowing on it. Then she handed it back. "Okay,"

They started back to work again.

CSICSICSICSI

Nick was taking pictures and doing his work, all the while worrying how his Simone was taking this possible rape case.

"Cartrige casings. They don't look like hunters, either." He snapped another photo. "Man, I wonder how Simone is doing with this case. Griss, are you sure it was such a good idea, sending her off with only Sara? Sara hasn't been there for one of her meltdowns."

"If Simone has a meltdown she'll call you or Greg or Catherine. Give her a little credit, Nick. Now come get a shot of this," Grissom had lifted a rock to reveal what he though was- "It looks like a belt loop."

Nick walked over.

"Well it couldn't havee been there long, with all the elements."

"Brass, was the victim wearing denim?" Grissom turned to his old friend.

"Silk or lace, something like that. Definately not denim."

Nick snapped a few more pictures.

"Simone wears lace." He knew this from the times he had happened to come across her in the locker room.

"Which is why you like lace, Nick, yes, we know. There's a good chance this is our suspect's...I'm gonna use scent pads." He took off for the Tahoe.

Nick paused, looked at Grissom, and then at Brass before standing.

"SCENT PADS?"

"K-9 voodoo." Brass commented dryly.

"Simone taught me about them. Dogs have a sense of smell that's about 40 times more acute than a humans. A dog's nose is packed with dense rolls of membranes that absorb oder. Stretched out these membranes extend about a third the length of the dogs body. The membranes in a human nose? About the size of a postage stamp." Nick had been approaching Grissom throughout this explaination. The scent pad machine was huge.

"It looks like a giant dust buster." Nick chuckled.

"Similar. You place the absorbant pad into the chamber. Then you run the machine over the suspected item. Then you take the pads, seal it in an envalope, and freeze it."

Yeah," Nick thought he was getting the idea. "Yeah, then when you pull them out, we know enough about this denim guy to find a proximal location."

"Except there's a caveat."

"Mind explaining that caveat?" Brass sighed.

"Later. Hopefully the girls are making some progress."

CSICSICSICSI

Sara was going through the evidence once more, to make sure they had everything. Something fell out of Jane Doe's clothes, and Simone looked up from the notes she was taking.

Sara picked the small pendant up, and brought it under the light, so that the two of them could see it.

"Saint Catherine." Simone noted.

"She studied science." Sara sat in the seat next to Simone, and they both faced Jane Doe.

"She was tough. And very outspoken."

"Went against the emporer himself."

"She chewed him out for persecuting Christians, and it took him...two or three tries to execute her."

"She never gave up. She was brave." Sara sighed. She opened up the woman's hand and placed the pendant inside. "You hold on to this."

"This shouldn't have hapened to you. It shouldn't have to happen to anybody." Simone wiped her eyes on her shoulder, catching sight of Grissom as she did so. "I promise to find out who did this." She stood and walked over to Grissom. "Hey."

"Hey." He smiled softly. Sara just stayed with Jane.

"Sexual assult kit is ready to process." She told him. She whiped her eyes again. She wouldn't have a meltdown. Not here. Not while she was working.

"How's it look, Sara?" Grissom's eyes drifted to the woman who was now standing hehind Simone.

"We'll see." She cleared her throat. "She's um- she's really-"

"She's evidence." Grissom told them.

Simone knew this, she'd been evidence when it happened to her.

Sara however, rolled her eyes and turned away.

"Sara," Grissom called her back.

"Yeah?" She snapped.

"If you try and chase two Rabbits, you're going to end up loosing them both."

CSICSICSICSI

"Hey, guys," Nick pulled his head up from Simone's shoulder. "This North Vegas shooting with the same casings as our Jane Doe's?" He was reading from a file sitting in Simone's lap.

"Mmhm?" Grissom looked up from his own file.

"It was gang related. Homicide never found the shooter."

"It's almost impossible in gang neighborhoods," Simone leaned her head back so she could look at him. "Nobody wants to talk. People are afraid."

"Let's see if we have any evidence that's not attriuted to the victim," Grissom ordered.

Sara looked at Grissom with wide eyes, before going to the bag on her left.

"Here you go!" She handed him the hat that had been in the bag.

"Snake backs!" Nick lay his head back down, still watching Grissom.

"Gang shooters mark their kills by throwing down their hats." Simone closed her eyes.

"How do you know so much about this?" Nick laughed.

"I read a lot." She deadpanned. "It's an Anthropological quirk of territoriality. Like a cat, spraying on a bush." Sara took the hat from Grissom.

"It cuts out the opposition of who's responsible." Nick said.

"Sombody wore this hat a lot. The sweatband can give us DNA."

"And we can compare it to the samples we collected off of Jane, at the hospial." Simone nodded.

"Jane?" Grissom echoed.

"Doe. Our "Death-Iminant?" Sara looked at him like he was stupid.

"First name basis, girls?" Nick tightened his arms around his girlfriend.

"Hey, I always go first name basis!" Simone shrugged. She kissed Nick on the throat and fought her way out of his arms. "We'll be in DNA."

Sara grabbed the hat and walked out with her.

They got the DNA to Greg, and headed over to check Missing Persons reports. Sara was humming One Way or Another. Simone joined in.

"Hey!" Grissom walked in, inturrupting them.

"Any luck on 23rd street?" Simone asked.

"Broke in my new shoes. That's about it. What did the lab say?"

"The DNA in the ball cap is a match to the semen we found in our Jane Doe," Sara reported. "But CODIS hasn't kicked out a name."

"So you're both just looking at Missing Persons reports?"

"It's the least we can do to find out who she is, Grissom," Simone's voice left no room for arguments. "We cant find her shooter through his DNA or through the belt loop. What's the harm."

"Sara...Do you have any diversions?" Grissom asked. He knew Simone got as many day's off as she needed, and she had Nick. But Sara... Poor Sara.

"Do I what?" Sara didn't look up from the computer.

"You max out on overtime every month, you go home and listen to your police scanner," Sara turned to glare at him. "You read forensic text books."

"Yeah," Sara nodded.

Grissom sighed and sat down between the girls.

"Look. Everyday we meet people on the worst day of their lives. Everyone who's ever had any time on this job knows that you have to have a diversion. In order to cope with what we see. What do you do for fun?"

"I chase rabbits." Sara responded. "And I read crime books and I listen to the scanner."

"You need something outside of law enforcement. Catherine has her kid, you know? I sometimes ride rollar coasters. Simone has Greg and Nick and they go out to dinner all the time. They don't bring up the crime scenes, or the lab. They distract each other. What do you do?"

"Nothing."

"What do you like?"

"I don't like anything." Sara snapped.

"You gotta find something to like."

Simone bit her lip. She new the rest of this speech.

"Sara, you can't get too close to the victims," Grissom sighed.

"She's special," Sara protested. "To me. I can't help it."

"Sara, if you don't find something, they'll all become special, and you'll burn out." He stood to leave. When he got to the door, they were still sitting there, Sara still sifting through the reports. "Sara..."

"Okay," She snapped. "I'm almost done I have to log out."

Grissom stared at her before figuring Simone would take over when it got too bad, and leaving.

CSICSICSICSI

"Pamela Adler. You can stop now, Sara." Simone gestured to the result she had just gotten to. She had pushed Sara out of the chair to go get coffee about half an hour ago.

Sara hopped out of her seat and read the report.

"You were shopping!" She exclaimed. "...Pamela..."

CSICSICSICSI

"Grissom told you to keep us out, didn't he?" Sara crossed her arms.

"Yeah." Nick nodded. He wrapped his arms around Simone. "You okay?"

"We'll talk about it later, Nick." Simone closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Were you wearing those pants the other night?" Grissom asked the boy in his teens.

"What, these jeans? What's it to you."

"Hmm. SIMONE." He called out to the glass. Simone once again weasled her way out of Nick's protective hold and made her way into the interrogation room, putting on latex gloves as she went. "They're missing a belt loop. I find that interesting."

"Put the scrubs on," Simone grabbed them from Brass and tossed them onto the table.

"I know the law. He doesn't have to do anything unless a judge says to." Tony Thorpe's mother slid the scrubs back.

"That's why Tony's volunteering." Simone tossed the scrubs back onto the table. "Aren't you Tony?"

"Sure, whatever. I got nothing to hide. The detectives say she aiin't even dead." He tossed his jeans on the table.

"That's true." Simone began folding the jeans. "However, if Ms. Adler dies within the next year and a day, it's murder."

"Is this some kinf of trick?" Mrs. Thorpe asked.

"No, Ma'am." Brass shook his head, handing Simone a brown paper evidnec bag.

"It's the _law_." Simone smirked. "We're working this case as a murder."

"At least for the next year and a day, and even then I'm still a juvie. Until then how bout you and me hook up, cuz you been causing me a little problem, Mama."

"Emphasis on the little, Tony. Sorry, I have myself a bigger man." She opened the door to reveal Nick standing there, ready to enter. "A much bigger man."

She pushed lightly on Nick's Chest to get him moving.

CSICSICSICSI

Sara was singing One Way or Another again. Simone chuckled and joined in.

"Hey girls, did anyone ever tell you you have good singing voices?"

"You, every day." Simone smiled at him. He smirked and leaned down to capture her lips in a kiss.

"Only if you like the sound of nails on a chalk-board."

"Sara, you aren't that bad. We hear you all the time. No one's ever told you?"

"It's a habit," She turned around to face the couple. "I don't even realize I'm doing it. Do you have the belt loop from the crime scene lined up yet, Nick?"

"Yeah, yeah take a look." Nick and Simone moved so Sara could see.

"Fit's like a glove," She smirked.

"Let's go tell the boss." Simone sighed.

"You go. I have something to do, first."

"Hey, if you go near that Thorpe kid-" Nick warned.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm just saying."

"Sara," Simone sighed. "We'll catch him. Nick is saying that if you go after him, we'll loose him, and he'll go free. There's a possibility he'll go after Pamela again now that he knows she's still alive."

"It's something else." Sara promised. Simone nodded. She took Nick by the arm and gestured to the door.

"Come on."

CSICSICSICSI

"My beautiful Darling sister!" Greg sat on top of Simone while Nick was cooking in the kitchen. "How did you fair without me, my dear?"

"Oh, my dear brother, 'Twas positivly dreadful. Nay, you shall never believe how horrible the other DNA anaylisists are! Never shall I ever be the one to volunteer to give the DNA when you aren't there. NEVER!"

"Okay you two," Nick chuckled. "Greg, get your scrawny ass off of my girlfriend.

"She was my cussion before she was your girlfriend, Stokes! Find your own."

"Greg, I'm armed."

"Okay, okay, jeez I'm getting up!" Greg grabbed Dallas off the ground and walked into his room, plate of food in his other hand. "CSI's These days. God."

Simone laughed and sat up.

"You did good with this case, babe."

"Obviously not." Simone sighed. Nick rolled his eyes and picked up their plates, jerking his head to the basement/Simone's bedroom door.

"What's wrong?" He sighed dramatically as he fell onto the black and white floral bed spread.

"I don't know. It was my first actual rape case since mine." Simone sat on her knees next to Nick and sat him up, sliding behind him. She began to work the knots out of his tense muscles, kissing his neck every so often. "You know, I don't think it would be so bad now, to try."

"Try?" Nick echoed.

"Sex." Simone responded. Nick made an 'Ahh' sound.

"Let me decide, baby." Nick told her. "If you wanna try, we'll try, but you gotta give me time to decide the perfect time."

"Alright," Simone agreed. She knew he'd make it special for her. Knew for a fact he wouldn't force her.

"I want you to eat, okay? And get some sleep," Nick turned around and kissed he deeply. "I want you."

"I want you, too." She smirked. "That tight Texan ass of yours."

Nick groaned.

"I love it when you talk dirty." He kissed her one last time, took the burger off his plate, and bid her good bye.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: VincesDirtyGirl: This would be because I watch the episodes as I write, lol. I do add my own little swing to things as I go.

Simone walked into the pottery shop/crime scene behind Nick, who was carrying both their kits. She, Catherine and Nick stopped just short of the body, Grissom went right up to Brass, who was next to it.

"Introductions?"

"Joseph Felton. Not an employee, no reason to be here."

"Mind if he and I have a moment together?"

"No, go ahead." Brass walked over to Simone. "Hey, kiddo. Stokes treating you good, I hope."

"Oh the best."

Nick turned to her and smirked, kissing her swiftly before turning back to Grissom. Making out at a crime scene was not appropriate.

Simone giggled and they stared collecting evidence, Brass watching, amazed as always.

"Burn marks." Simone noticed as Nick was taking pictures of the safe.

"That's an odd way to break into a safe." Brass commented.

"How much was taken?" Simone turned to the uncle figure of the group.

"Three hundred and something in small Bills."

"Multiple contusions to the back of the Skull," Nick and Simone turned to face Grissom as he spoke. "Might have been taken by suprise."

"Robbery Interuptus?" Catherine asked, as she nodded in agreement.

"I think our robbery suspect is a homicide victim." Simone stated.

"That's one way to beat the rap." Catherine shrugged.

CSICSICSICSI

"So, what's the COD, Doc?" Simone grinned at the elderly coroner. She hadn't seen him in a while.

"It's an easy one. The guy from the potery store has three hits to the head. Trauma to the brain stem was fatal, death was instantaneous."

"Can you tell us anything about the murder weapon?" Catherine asked.

"Nothing difinitive, but I swabbed the points of impact." Doc Robins gestured to the microscope. "Slide is under there."

Nick went to go look at it.

"Yellow looks like transfer from the murder weapon, but...What's with the glitter?"

"Unidentified mineral. I sent a sample to trace for anaylisis."

"Hey Doc, you have a comb?" Simone suddenly asked. Catherine grinned.

"Your hair looks great, babe," Nick teased.

"Bet you think it looks better in the morning, Nick." Simone took the comb from Doc Robins, along with paper for evidence.

"Guy is still dirty, they don't get a bath until evidence is collected."

"Well, that's what I'm doing, although I don't think this is dirt." She gently combed the man's hair onto the paper. Her eyes widened. "He's covered in spores!" She looked at them carefully. "I think these are from a fern."

"That back enterence was overgrown with ferns." Nick recalled.

"A fern plant deposits billions of spores in it's life time." Catherine said.

"Most are just dust in the wind," Simone agreed. "But in our case, they're evidence. Just as good as fibers or fingerprints in placing a suspect in a crime scene."

CSICSICSICSI

Simone plopped down in Nick's lap when he got done talking to Brass about Darren Hansen, the suspect.

"Babe," Nick laughed. "You make it hard for me to wait for the right time."

"Maybe I don't want to wait." She kissed him smoothly on the lips, biting gently on his lower lip. Nick smirked and pulled away.

"You're going to have to."

Simone pouted.

"We're at work." He elaborated. "Plus, I had something special planned out for it. We're going to dinner, tomorrow. And wear a nice dress."

Simone nodded and breifly pressed her lips to his again. Nick allowed himself to get caught up in it, if only for a second.

CSICSICSICSI

"I haven't seen Joseph Felton since the trial." Hansen rolled his eyes.

"So...His death, being so close to your release...Coincidence?" Simone sat on Brass's desk, legs crossed.

"Yeah. Guy put me in prison! I had no reason to see him."

"He put you in the grey bar? Sounds like motive to me!" Catherine gave the man a wide eyed look.

"Darren, you and Felton...you go back, yeah?"

"Mm-hmm." Darren nodded. "I knew the guy for fifteen years. My folks lived across the street from him. We'd barbecue together with his wife and daughter."

"Must have really pissed you off when he turned on you." Simone shook her head as Nick leaned his weight on Brass's desk, his palms flat against it on either side of his girlfriend.

"The transcript from your tile says that you used a plasma lance in that '99 burgalary." He held up the picture of the pottery shop safe. "There it is again, Derren."

"Joe was the lance guy!" Darren looked from Nick to Simone to Catherine and back again. "He taught me how to break into safes. That's why the M.O.'s the same!"

"Where were you this morning at eight A.M.?" Brass asked, rubbing his chin.

"I was in Barstow. All week. I just got back this afternoon." Everyone stared at him. Darren sighed and pulled recipts out of his pocket. "Fine. Here. Recipts from the trip."

Catherine looked throught them and raised her eyebrow.

"They look authentic. Cactus Pine cafe in Barstow. Noon. Today." She handed them to Brass.

Brass looked at Darren for a long moment, then turned to Catherine.

"We can't hold him."

Catherine nodded, and Simone sighed.

As Darren was leaving, Catherine handed Simone a photo.

"Think you can sketch us an adult version of this kid?"

"Sure. Isn't this-"

"It's Melissa Marlowe. Yeah."

"Sure." Simone said again.

CSICSICSICSI

"Oh...Hi, Terri?" Simone walked in slowly, clutching the sketch of Melissa Marlowe to her chest.

"Hello, Simone." Terri looked up at Simone and smiled.

"Terri is using age progression software. Since you couldn't do it."

"Wo said I couldn't do it?" Simone lowered the sketchbook, revealing the same exact person Terri had on the computer. It was just better. "I dare say, it's a better match."

"No Terri's is definately better," Grissom gazed at Terri.

"Oh, thanks, Grissom." Simone slammed the sketch book filled with the age process of Melissa Marlowe.

"Am...I interupting something?" Catherine had walked in the second Simone slammed the book down.

"Not at all. Catherine Say hello to Melissa Marlowe." Grissom turned the computer around.

"Oh, My God!" Catherine's eyes bugged out of her head.

"What?"

"That's...Tammy Felton. Simone's sketch is more acurate, though. We've already met."

Grissom's Jaw dropped.

CSICSICSICSI

"Tammy Felton's our murder suspect?" Nick wrapped his arm around Simone as he gave Catherine a strange look.

"She was kidnapped 21 years ago. And she may have killed, the man who raised her. Possibly, the same man who kidnapped her."

"Oh, my God, we live in a soap opera." Simone sighed.

"Well, I thought her prints from the crime scene weren't fresh?" Nick asked.

"Well, she could have cased the place weeks ago, and remembered to wear gloves on the big night." Grissom told him.

"So, any ideas on the murder weapon?"

"Ehh the swab from the head wound is at trace." Nick's arm was dropped from Simone's shoulder, only for him to grab her hand instead.

"And?" Grissom was quick to jump for an answer.

"We're on it," Nick and Simone went down a seperate corridor. Greg was sitting with his feet up, talking on the phone.

"I love you...no, I love you more...No. I love YOU-"

Simone plucked the phone out of her brother's hand, and fell across his lap in the classic teen on phone with best friend pose.

"And then, like, Greggy-poo had to-like totally get back to like- work! Like you know, like, the thing that get's you, like, pretty, and totally massive diamonds that like totally make up for your like, lack of brain cells from the countless days you, like spent like, dreaming about really hot boys! Like, bye, Steff! Stop distracting my brother while he's at work, please, thank you!" Simone hung the phone up, standing up and walking back to Nick's side, grinning at Greg's astonished face.

"Do you have the results on the swab yet?"

"Uh..."

"Uhhhh..." Simone mocked. "From the dead guy at the pottery store?"

Greg closed his eyes, trying to remember.

"Coroner sent over a sample and you were supposed to anaylize the mineral content."

"OH! Man, I'm sorry. Grissom's been running me around like a lab dog, I haven't had a chance."

"Grissom's on a missing persons, Greg. He hasn't sent you anything." Simone rose her eyebrow.

"Oh," Greg chuckled. "Did I say Grissom? I meant Catherine!"

"Oh," Nick chuckled mockingly, before his face fell. "Yeah, Catherine's working with us."

"Oh...What do you say we check out that swab then, huh?"

"Great," Nick deadpanned.

"Man, I know Simone has. But, Nick, haven't you ever goofed off? Ever get a little lost in life?"

"No. Your sister is my life."

"Aww." Simone smiled, and looked down.

"No...Eww." Greg corrected, looking at the sample under the microsope.

"See the sparkles?" (A/N:Damn it, I had the perfect oppertunity for making fun of Greg AND Edward Cullen at the same time! DAMN IT FOR NOT BEING 2005 IN THE FIRST SEASON!) Simone asked.

"Florecent minerals."

"Obviously." Simone rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Here," He gave Nick a pair of yellow tinted goggles. "Put your nose down the scope. When you see the florecent minerals start to glow- give a shout."

"Ahh. The Rainbow machine."

"Yes, dear sister. The Rainbow Machine. Though I'm sure there's a more scientifical name for it. Nick you ready?" Greg had the machine all set up, and the lights went out.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Simone, I hope you know your colors?"

"Yeppers. It's easy peasy, pumpkin peasy pumpkin pie, mother fucker!"

"Yes, thank you, Gerard Way." He turned on the machine.

"Okay. Lead." The light on the machine was green. "Zinc" Yellow. "Lithium." Red. "Anything?"

"Nothing yet." Nick replied.

"Manganese." Blue. "Petrolium." A darker shade of blue.

"Alright...How about this?" Greg switched from dark blue, to purple.

"Woah! Woah, stop! What is it?"

"It's uranium."

Nick tore the goggles off his face.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, babe. It's simple quantum mechanics." Simone smiled at him. "When the molecule is bombarded with energy at a specific level, the electrons excite, causing the molecule to glow. And at that level, it's definatly uranium."

"Which is radioactive! Do we need to evacuate the building or something?"

Simone just stared at him.

"The amount is trace. We should be fine."

"You sure?"

"No."

Nick looked at Greg, and then looked at Nick. Simone giggled and took his hand, assuring him that if he was going to die via Cancer-By-Uranium, so was she.

"I can tell you one thing. Your murder weapon definately has uranium on it."

The first thing Nick did when they got out, was head to the sink in the break room to wash his hands, and scrub at them. Grissom walked in. Simone rolled her eyes, and began helping Nick wash his hands.

"Greg says there was uranium on the swab from Felton's skull?"

"Yeah. He and this one here say I should be fine, but...Tell me...Am I radiating a green glow?"

"You'll be fine, Silkwood."

"What's uranium doing on the murder weapon, anyway?"

"Well, before Peter Parker was bit by that radioactive spider, and became spiderman back in the fifties-"

"Nineteen sixty-two." Simone corrected in a sing song tune.

"-Oxidized uranium flecs were used as color inhancers." Grissom ignored Simone as though she hadn't spoken.

"Color inhanccers?" Nick grabbed a paper towel from Simone, kissing her as thanks. "Like paints?"

"Paints, dies, glazes." Grissom nodded. "Since our guy was killed in a pottery store..."

"Say no more," Nick smiled. He grabbed Simone's hand, and they took off.

CSICSICSICSI

"You've got to be kidding me." Nick sighed.

"What?" Simone turned from her end of the shop, facing him. He held up the gnome in his hand. "Eww...Gnomes freak me the fuck out, babe."

"Awwe. Too right they should. This fella killed a man."

"Not helping my chronic fear of things that shouldn't belong in your garden, but do."

CSICSICSICSI

"Hi, Tammy." The four CSI's investigating the case of Tammy felton/Melissa Marlowe and Joseph Felton were standing on the door step. "We just uh...wanna have a look around."

"We have a warrant." Simone pulled it out of Nick's back pocket and handed it to the young woman.

"A warrant? For what?"

"Any evidence connecting you to the death of your father." Simone smiled sweetly.

"Tammy, could you step outside? This officer will keep you company."

Tammy's jaw dropped, but she still stepped out of the house, allowing them in.

After a solid fifteen minutes of searching, nick walked in, clearing his throat.

"What?" Grissom snapped.

"HEY!" Simone snapped right back. "I don't care much if you start PMSing with me, but keep your snippy mood away from Nick, aiight, yo?"

"Besides, I should get a finder's fee." Nick held out a pair of black gloves. "Here, one for each of you." He handed one to Catherine and one to Grissom.

"Yellow paint," Catherine smirked.

"Shall we test for uranium?"

"I need a dark room." Nick grinned.

Catherine and Simone set up an impromptu dark room for him.

"If uranium is present, the photons should react with the film." Simone told them.

"Okay, I'm exposing it..." Nick pulled the film out from under Catherine and Grissom's jackets, and held it up. There were small specks of uranium all over it.

"Well...That would be affirmative for uranium," Simone smiled.

Nick grinned and smiled.

Grissom made quick work of cutting the gloves open and apart, as Tammy came back in.

"Tammy, you ever wear these?"

"No." She told Simone. "They belonged to my mother."

"Oh. Well...we'll see." Simone began dusting print powder over the leather of the inside og the gloves.

"Tammy, I need your right index finger." Catherine printed the woman.

Simone pulled the print cleanly off the glove, and put it on a black piece of paper.

Catherine handed her the print she just took. Simone looked from one print to the other.

"It's a perfect match." She shrugged, a smirk weasling it's way onto her face.

"Joe lanced the safe." Grissom began. "Once it was open, you seized the moment. Bashed his head in. Three blows. Nick, call Brass, tell him it's time to make an arrest."

"Done." Nick got up off the couch from next to Simone, reluctant to leave her side, as he usually was when it came to being in the same room as a killer, but he still got up.

"You're making a mistake! I didn't kill my father. We weren't alone." Tammy stated.

"I'm sorry, there wasn't any evidence to indicate that there was a third person at the crime scene," Grissom told her.

"Who else was there." Simone and Catherine, at least, were willing to listen.

"I tried to stop her, I swear!"

"Tammy, who else was with you?"

"...Melissa Marlowe...But that bitch wouldn't listen!"

"Ok." Simone was now less willing to listen, smirk back in place.

CSICSICSICSI

"So we're looking at a split personality?" Brass asked Simone.

"Yo, I don't even know anymore dude," She sighed. "It's possible. Two distinct personalities in one." She yawned hugely.

"Is there any scientific evidence that supports this disorder?"

"There have been brain scans showing the hippocampus shifting from one personality to another." Simone responded.

"Would these two personalities be aware of each other?"

"Usually the dominant personality is aware of everything. The submissive would only be aware of itself."

"Tammy is the dominant personality?"

Simone nodded in response to Grissom's question.

"But Melissa killed Joseph Felton, Tammy's father."

"Who also kidnapped Melissa."

"Revenge for a kidnapping at twenty one years after the fact?" Brass asked.

"Does seem a bit...off. But it's possible. It may have taken that long for the submissive personality to break through." Simone shrugged, crossing her arms.

"Maybe miss mirror has two faces and is playing us for fools." Brass stated.

"I agree." Simone nodded. "We corner her with evidence, she goes nuts, sets the ground for the plea of insanity. But, forensic psychology is a science, and we have to stay open to all the possibilities."

A knock came at the door.

"Captain?"

"Yeah?" Brass responded to the uniform.

"The girl's parents are here with her attourney."

"Ooooh, Draaaamaaaa!" Simone smirked.

CSICSICSICSI

"Drama indeed!" Greg took a bite out of his steak. "So she skipped bail, and her 'rents got arrested?"

"Yep." Simone popped a tater tot into her mouth, taking a sip of her can of Sprite. "It was rediculous. And Nick's all worried that he's going to grow a tail because of the radiation. It's funny."

"Speaking of Nick." Greg fed Dallas a carrot under the table.

"Yes. Speaking of Nick. Don't expect me home tomorrow night. Then and the day after that is me and Nick's days off. So don't expect me home after tomorrow, for another two days."

"Oh Jesus."

"So feed my collie, Greg. I ain't playing."

"Alright, Alright."

"I'M WARNING YOU!"

"OKAY!"

"RAAWR!"

Dinner was soon forgotten as Frank and Marge complained in the house next door about "Them damn kids" and their "need to have the wrestling matches in the early hours of the morning."


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: I know Greg is Norwegian. However, for the purposes of the ring, I'm making Greg and Simone half Norwegian, half Irish. Thank you, and enjoy the smut, hah. PS: FINALLY, YO!

Nick stood at the door step talking with Greg while Simone was finishing getting ready.

And down stairs, Simone was on the phone with Marge from next door.

"Yes. Yes Marge. I sincerely apologize for the shenannigans that my hooligan brother undergo every other week. Yes, Marge, I'm being sarcastic. YES MARGE, I'm trying to get that nice looking boy standing on the porch to leave, as I'm going to leave with him." She paused in her speaking to put an earing in, haphazardly balancing on one shoe. "No, Marge, not forever. Stop peeking out of your window Marge. MARGE!" Simone suddenly pulled the phone away from her ear, to stare at it. "The old nut hung up on me! SHE'S the one who called me!"

Simone sighed and shook her head, running the brush through her hair one last time, hopping up the stairs on her one shoe, searching for the other. It was in Greg's room, because God know's why.

"Heeeeey, Nick!" Simone smiled at him as she bowled her brother over, knocking him into the hall table. Greg grumbled something about needing a drink and went to the cubbord, pulling out the bottle of Jagermeister, and sitting his ass down on the couch.

"Thank God we don't have to hear the baby making, right Dallas?"

An excited yip came from the vicinity of Greg's feet. Simone cleared her throat. Nick smiled at her.

"I'm going to limit our touching until later, but you look beautiful, baby."

Simone's grin softened to a smile.

"You don't look too bad yourself." She toldd him.

He held the car door open for her, watching her intently as she buckled herself in. Then he shut the door.

The resturant he took her to was elegant, but not so much so that he'd be bankrupt when he finished, but enough so that it was unusual for him.

"Simone Sanders," He got her attention away from her menu. He placed a velvet box on the table. Simone's eyes widened in alarm.

"No way."

"You're right." He agreed. "There's no way. At least not yet. This isn't a proposal. This is only a promise." He flipped the box open, and revealing a beautiful Celtic promise ring. "I remembered that you and Greg are half Irish. So I figured Celtic would be the way to go. I promise to never hurt you, and to never let anyone else hurt you. I promise to support you, should you ever need me to. And I promise to make you mine, but allow you to tell me when to stop, should you want to stop. Simone. I promise. I promise to love you."

"That's a lot of promises."

"I promise to keep them."

"Oh, Nick!" She couldn't resist standing up and kissing him full on the mouth, letting him slip the ring onto her finger.

Dinner for them passed in a haze, after that.

Nick drove in silence, caught up in his own thoughts. How was he going to go through with this? Would she be scared? Would she panic? Fight him off? Cry? He didn't think he'd be able to take it if she started crying.

Nick held his front door open for her, and she walked into his bedroom while he was locking up. She pulled her heels off, dropping them next to his work boots. Simone sat on his bed, hands folded in her lap, waiting patiently.

Nick walked in and sat next to her. He didn't know what to do. He really didn't. So Simone made the first move. She turned to him and pressed her lips to his, carefully. Nick placed his hand on the back of her neck, and she shivered at the coolness of it. She pulled back and looked at his hand.

"You have one too..." She trailed off. She twisted the ring around his finger, then looked up into his brown eyes.

"Yes," Nick nodded. "So that if we don't have a case together, I can look down and know that I'm yours, no matter how far apart we are."

Simone couldn't help it. She grabbed him by the face and forced his lips roughly onto her own. Nick moaned and consented to her will.

"I love you. I love you, I love you." Each time she said it she kissed him. Nick wraped his arms tightly around her and held her to him. Her fingers splayed across his chest.

"Hey. I love you too." He grinned. "Darlin', you drive me crazy. You know that?"

"I drive _you_ crazy?" Simone pulled back and looked at Nick indignantly. "Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to jump on you? Day _one_ Nick. Seriously, a long time."

Nick leaned up and placed his lips on her neck.

"Greg had a picture of you on his lab table, burried under all his work papers. I knew I needed you from the moment I saw you."

"Oh, Nick," Simone sighed. She sagged against him and he sighed happily. Nick pushed her back so her head was in the pillows. He kissed her lips again, long, luxurious kisses that made her eyes roll and her toes curl.

Nick's hand snuck it's way to her hip, and he put one knee between her legs, so he was half on her and half on the bed.

"Is this okay?" He whispered.

"No." Simone smirked. "You're too far away." She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him so he was chest-to-chest with her, as she kissed him forcefully again. Nick's hands found their way to her shoulders, gripping them gently, yet hard enough for a small thrill to go through her. The thrill got stornger when Nick's nips and kisses moved down her throat to her neck, and then shoulders. She took a deep breath. All Raymond had done was bite until she bled.

"Stop thinking about it..." She told herself aloud. Nick paused, leaving his lips on her skin as his eyes flashed up to her face. She shook her head. "Keep going."

Nick continued to look at her for a few seconds, then did as she asked, running his tongue all the way up her neck to her ear.

"Are you sure you'll be okay." He bit her earlobe and sucked on it.

"I will be. Even if I panic, I need it, Nick, or I'll never be able to sleep with anyone again. And I'm sorry Nick, I probably will panic, and I will compare you to Raymond. I need to. Please, Nick."

Nick closed his eyes. Could he do this? Would he? One look at her pleading face brought him to his decision. Yeah. He could. He would.

"Alright. I won't hurt you. Never." He promised.

"I know."

That was the end of it.

Nick placed himself back at her neck again, lightly sucking on the spot he knew was her sweet spot. Simone moaned and her hand came to clasp the front of his shirt. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she saw every little thing Raymond had done to her. Except he never did find that spot. Nimble fingers unhooked each button on his black dress shirt, causing him to take his hands off her to get the sleeves from around his wrists.

Simone pushed the material off him, sighing happily as his skin was revealed to her. She ran her fingers over his chest, up his neck to his face. Nick shivered, and leaned into her touch. He placed his hands modestly on her waist, as he gazed into her eyes. Simone reached behind her and pulled the zipper of her dress down. It fell to her waist, stopped by his arms.

"Are you-"

"Nick!"

Nick rolled his eyes and helped her pull the dress off, white lace being revealed as he did. He sucked in a sharp breath, and dropped his forhead to her shoulder.

"You're beautiful, Simone." Nick kissed her shoulder. Simone wrapped her arms around his own shoulders, as his kisses fluttered across her chest and neck, drawing pleased sighs from her. He kissed the cleavage spilling out from her strapless bra, drawing his tongue along the line it created. His hands wondered to her back, and he fumbled with the clip of her bra. She chuckled and brought his hands to her chest.

"It's here."

Nick blushed, and unclipped it, tossing it aside rather impatiently. Then he looked lost on what to do. Simone rolled her eyes and pushed his head down to her chest. Nick smiled softly and took her nipple in his mouth, pinching the other with his thumb and pointer finger.

Simone's gasps of pleasure caused him to groan and continue on, leaving one hand squeezing her left breast. He kissed down her stomach, licking her belly button and blowing in it, making her squeal softly. She rebuttled with a soft tug to his hair. Nick's lips curved into a smile, and he moved his lips down to her panty line, tugging on the white lace gently with his teeth, and running his tongue along the skin just beyond the panty line. Then, he pulled them down, off her legs and tossing them with the rest of their clothes.

Nick glanced up at her, seeing her eyes closed in anticipation. He looked at her perfect, pink, moist nether lips, and took a deep breath. He ran one finger up and down her slick folds, making her moan loudly, and gasp his name.

Nick slipped two fingers inside of her, making Simone moan even louder and arch her back off of the bed. He closed his eyes and went down, licking the slit and the juices that had spilled out of her. He spread her lips with his thumbs, licking gently at her clit. The longer he licked, the more wet she became, until finally, she screamed his name and came hard into his waiting mouth.

"Oh, Nick," Simone sighed, massaging his scalp gently. She shook her head and sat up, bringing him up with her. She opened the button on his pants, pulling down the zipper, and pulling the pants off him, along with his boxers. Nick was already painfully hard, just from pleasuring Simone and watching her orgasam at his hands.

Simone grabbed his member in her hands, running her fingers along the length.

"You're bigger." She whispered.

Nick couldn't help but harden further as she said this. Simone smiled and closed her eyes, taking him into her mouth. Nick gave a startled little gasp that quickly turned into a moan. Simone's tongue ran over his dick, pulling him out of her mouth to circle around the head befor taking him in again.

"Jesus," Nick gasped, fisting the sheets. Simone's hand took up the space that her lips could not reach, pumping him in the same rhythm her mouth had set. Nick felt that tingling in the pit of his stomach and gasped again. "Okay, stop, stop, stop!"

The look Simone gave him when she pulled off of him was one he knew he'd never forget. An odd combination of fear, passion, love and lust. Nick carefully grabbed her hips, pulling her into him. Simone's eyes fluttered closed.

"Please..." She rocked her hips gently, and Nick just barely slipped inside her.

Nick gave that half gasp again, and his hips jerked of their own accord, pushing him even farther inside of her. He pulled her down to him, kissing her deeply, as he went the rest of the way, pausing to allow her to get used to his size. He turned so she was beneath him, never once slipping out of her.

Simone lay her hands flat against his back, feeling the strong muscles contort beneath the flesh, tensing and releasing as he waited for her to be ready.

The first tingles of pleasure coarsed through her and she gave a little moan. Nick took this as his cue to start moving. He started slowly, still waiting for a verbal go-ahead.

"Faster."

Nick's pace picked up, and he made it so he went even deeper inside of her. He looked into her eyes, then kissed her as he drove himself into her harder, wrapping his arms around her. Her legs circled around his waist. He pulled her so close that her chest pressed up against his.

"Harder, Nick." Simone gaspped. Nick began thrusting as hard as he could, tighening his grip and bringing her even closer. He dropped his head to her shoulder, kissing lightly, as she moaned his name in his ear. Nick brought his hand down and massaged her clit. That was it for Simone. She screamed his name as she came, dragging her fingers down his back.

"Oh, Simone," Nick moaned. The tightening of her passage made him grabb her hips and empty his seed into her. He dropped his head onto her chest, both breathing hard.

Simone began giggling insanely after a few seconds.

"What?" Nick asked, worried it was because of him.

"That was-Wow. Sorry. I get all happy after really, really goos sex. It's my tell."

"Oh, be happy all you want. I expect you'll be damn happy come morning." Nich kissed her neck. Simone laughed again.

"Fine. But I get top this time!"


	24. Chapter 24

"YO!" Simone shook he head, slapping herself in the forhead. "Brutal!"

"Two victims. She's on the side walk a foot from the curb, and he's in the middle of the street."

"What's missing?" Sara asked.

"No car?"

"NO MERCY!" Simone looked over at the man Nick was kneeling next to. "This guy was stabbed at least five times!"

"Hey, babe, what's that?" Simone pointed to fibers by the man's body.

"Some red hairs. Victim is brown haired." Nick replied.

Grissom arrived on scene at that point.

"What do we got?"

"They had dinner at Andre's. David has the his wallet with a credit card recipt." Simone pointed. Then she smiled at Brass, as she'd done his job for him.

"They didn't bother to Valet." Grissom observed.

"Yeah. They saved five bucks, it cost them their lives. Car-jacking gone wrong."

"Nope. Car-jackers don't use knives." Simone shook her head.

"Never?" Brass asked skeptically.

"They used to say never on sunday, but then Pearl Harbor happened. I never say never." She felt a drop of moisture on her neck and shivered, turning her attention to the sky, then she scrambled to collect evidnece. Everyone stared at her strangly. Grissom cursed. And just like that, shit hit the fan. It began pouring rain, destroying the evidence.

"We've got three minutes to process this crime scene!" Grissom shouted over the rain. "Sara take pictures! Savannah, Warrick, protect everything you bagged!"

"You gotta get the bodies into the van!" Simone ordered.

After that, it was all just mindless shouting-chaos as they tried to save their evidence.

"WHY THE HELL IS IT RAINING IN VEGAS GOD DAMN IT?" Simone snapped. "WE'RE LOOSING EVERYTHING!"

"Yeah." Grissom agreed. He turned his face to the sky. "Our killer got lucky tonight."

When the rain finally cleared, Grissom turned to Simone, frustrated.

"Simone, I want you to work with Catherine. She's over at that collapsed building. Go help her out."

"Right, boss." Simone saluted, wrapped her arms around the soaked Nick Stokes in a quick hug with a soft kiss to the underside of his chin, and she took off.

She ran up to Catherine's side as O'riley was saying "Catherine...It's a house."

"O'riley...It's a suspect." Simone corrected.

CSICSICSICSI

"Hey, Greg!" Nick walked into the lab.

"Shh." Greg didn't look up from the microscope he was looking at. "I might be looking at the mother of my children, here."

"Someone's a little too into their work." Nick chuckled, slipping his gloves on.

"No, you don't get it. I had a date last night. This girl has the most amazing green eyes. Like BAM! Shoulder-length blonde hair, intelligent."

"Cute toes?"

"Oh," Greg moand. "Imaculate. And none are bigger than the big toe. On both feet. But what I need to know, is what's on the inside?"

"Oh, what's in her heart."

"No. Her DNA. Now this girl has got some fine epithelials."

"Awe," Nick laughed. "Dude, you're sick! You've officially lost it. And now I know why your sister spent the night last night."

"Oh yeah. About that- You guys do the dirty?"

"Not last night no. Last week, yes. Not that you need to know, or anything. She's your sister, dude. You don't need to know this! And anyways, what's wrong with getting to know each other over coffee like Simone and I did?"

"Oh, that's boring!" Greg rolled his eyes. What are you even doing here?"

"I pulled some hairs off our male stabbing vic."

"Ooooh!" Greg took the slide and slipped it under his microscope. "Uh huh." He pulled back and looked at Nick. "Nine lives."

"Cat hair?"

Greg nodded. "Meow."

Nick rolled his eyes and walked away.

CSICSICSICSI

"Excuse me!" Simone smiled up at a fire-fighter dressed in yellow with a yellow hard hat on. Catherine had been the one who had spoken."Where's the District Engineer?"

"Over there," The man pointed to another, less yellow man, kneeling by the wall.

"Ah," Simone nodded to Catherine. "Follow the tie! Thanks!"

Catherine walked ahead of the younger woman, approaching the man with the tie and hard hat.

'An unlikely Combination.' Simone inwardly smirked as she and Catherine put hard hats of their own on. The DE was leaning down, investigating some mold and water damage on a piece of wall.

"Is that from the rain?" Catherine asked. The man looked up at the two CSI's with a snobbish look.

"Depends on who's asking." He snapped.

"Ohhh." Simone winced and took a deep breath through her teeth. Back talking Catherine was never something you wanted to do.

"Are you hiding something, or am I not worth your time?"

"Excuse me?" He growled. Simone rolled her eyes .

"Well, you are the District Engineer, right? In charge of the structural saftey of this building? Oh...Look...The building fell down. Turn around and talk to us before I have my friend there," Simone pointed to O'Riley, visible through the destroyed doorway. "Slap a pair of pretty silver bracelets on your wrists that probably won't be as flimsy as this damn building."

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch either of your names." The man glared.

"Didn't give them." Simone sneered.

"I'm Catherine Willows." Catherine put a hand on the girls tensed shoulder, calming her instantly. "She's Dr. Simone Sanders. Las Vegas Crime Lab."

"The Crime lab?"

"Yeah. The building fell down," Simone scoffed. "Crushed three people to death. Tell her why the wood is wet."

"Well, its a flat roof structure. Leaks aren't uncommon. Maybe that explains the dry rot."

"And what am I looking at?"

"That would be sheetrock."

"Drywall." Simone deadpanned. "She means that part." She pointed to another layer.

"Well when they installed the original...Drywall...they used half inch. When they came back and repaired it, they used quarter inch."

"Was the quarter inch on sale that day?" Catherine snarked.

"Look lady-"

"Catherine." Simone interupted.

"Sorry."

"Don't say sorry, just know who you're talking to." Catherine said, standing from her spot next to the wall.

"When they applied the second layer and then they spackled it and then they painted it. The difference wasn't noticable."

"It's...Noticable now...Isn't it?" Simone smirked.

"Which District Engineer conducted the inspection?" Catherine asked.

"There is no other District Engineer."

"Then it looks bad for you..."

"Hahaha, okay." The man laughed. "Look, Girl, Catherine. How about I write a report and then I email it to you. How does that sound?"

"Where's the point of origin of the collapse?"

The DE cleared his throat, and stayed silent.

"Look," Catherine sighed. "This is our crime scene. Simone could find it herself, but that would mean lots of questions to lots of people."

"Well, it's my expert opinion, but I'd say right below us. The Basemnet. The Laundry room."

"Then that's where we wanna be." Simone grinned. Catherine smiled at her as they turned away.

They went back to the evidence truck, and Simone slippen on a jump suit, revealing several hickies on her collarbone as she did.

"Oh, you naughty girl," Catherine chuckled. Simone's eyes twinkled happily.

"No sex was involved in the making of these blood clots. I promise." She zipped up the jump suit.

"Just keep it in your home lives."

"We always do. Though sex in the office is a tempting thing sometimes."

"Uh, listen." DE interupted. "I can have one of my guys go in there instead. I mean, you go in there, and you get that snappy little jump suit dirty and-"

"No offence," Simone finished putting a blue tooth device in her ear so she Catherine could talk to her. "But they work for you."

"So what?"

"So the victims family deserve answers. Someone has to be held accountable."

"Hey, I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Maybe not intentionally." Simone sighed, hooking a utillity belt around her waist. "But if a ship sinks, the last person who checks for leaks is negligent."

"Neither of you are married, are you?"

"Close enough," Simone muttered, tying her hair back.

"You." He pointed at Catherine. "Divorced. You. Broken up from a long time relationship."

"You...Suck at profiling. Especially since we were just having a conversation about that and you were five feet away." Simone rolled her eyes and pulled her hard hat on. It had lights and a camera fixed onto it.

"Alright. What you see, we'll see. But just going on the record, I think this is a bad idea. It's a hot feed."

"Whatever. Catherine, Tell my wife I love her." Simone grinned.

"Which wife, Nick, Greg, or Your Job?"

"All of them." She turned and walked away.

"Simone." O'Riley stood from his spot on the back bumber of an ambulance. "The mayor ran on a platform of urban renewal. Clear out the slum lords, make habitable, low-cost houses maintained by the city. If you find so much as a scratch on an asprin in there you know who it'll get back to."

"I'm gonna go do my job now. Bye." She walked away from the detective.

After fifteen minutes of crawling on her hands and knees, she was fed up.

"Am I almost at ground zero?"

"Almost," DE replied. Simone was fed up with calling him that too. "About ten more feet, you should have more head room, too."

"Well, I feel like I'm crawling through a straw, here." She found her way to a piece of wood. There was a roach crawling across it. She listened to Catherine's excited bable for a minute.

"What's so good about a roach?"

"We aren't Entamologists, but we know one. He can tell us something." Simone ducked and covered her head as a roar sounded overhead, followed by small bits of rubble falling.

"I thought that building was secure!" Catherine snapped.

"It is!"

"Chill, Cath. The airforce base is about a mile south of here. I'm fine." She caught the bug in a small jar and snapped the lid shut.

"Well, anything else we should know?"

"Your kid is in the clear."

"I'm not a kid, and yeah, I'm in the laundry room. Or at least what's left of it." She looked up, and saw the beam that was meant to hold the ceiling up. She followed it down and saw the support beams that were supposed to be made of steel. These were made of wood. And they looked like-"Hey Cath?"

"Yeah?"

"This beam looks almost like some one took a sledge hammer to it."


	25. Chapter 25

Nick walked in on simone scarfing down chocolate in the break room.

"Hey, stranger. Catherine said you loved me. And that I'm your wife. One of three. Practicing a new religion, are we?"

"Shut up, Nick. I'm making love to this candy bar!" She bit into it and moaned happily.

"That doesn't look consensual, darling."

"She's over eighteen, so..."

"Oh, I see how it is." Nick took a bite of the Hershey's and let it melt in his mouth.

Catherine knocked on the door.

"Let's go choco-beast. Time to go."

Simone sighed, kissed Nick on the cheek, handed him the candy bar, mumbled 'Use Protection', and followed Catherine out the door.

CSICSICSICSI

"We got trouble!" Simone stomped into the room.

"Can I help you with that?" DE smirked up at Catherine, who was pulling evidence down from the shelf.

"No...How did you get in here?"

"Well I flashed my city ID. And my smile."

"Can I see your ID, please, Mr. I-don't-bother-to-introduce-myself?" Simone held out her hand.

"Here," He groaned.

"Paul Newsome. Got it." She handed the ID back.

"So, what are we looking for?"

"A lot of things contributed to the collapse of the building. Catherine and I are concentrating on the human Element."

"If this was damaged now there would be evidence of discoloration."

"Can I see?" Paul took the magnifying glass Catherine held out for him. "Nope. No discoloration."

There was silence.

"Would you like to explain why?" Simone felt her eye litterally twitch.

"Five years ago, that place was apartment Vietnam. The City turned it's back on it, the tennants revolted. One day one of them, apartment 204 took a sledge hammer to that column. It's a public record, he was arrested." He handed Catherine a folder.

"Public record? And you didn't think to indicate the damage in your inspection report?"

"There wasn't enough damage to cause concern." Paul protested.

"Tell that to the women who were crushed to death." Simone rolled her eyes.

CSICSICSICSI

She was in Greg's lab when he found her.

"Babe!" Nick handed Simone a pad of paper. "Can you tell me what this says?"

Simone rose an eyebrow and Nick grinned sheepishly. Greg snorted. One look from Nick shut him up, and he stuck his nose back down his microscope.

"Of course you can. I mean what was I thinking?"

"You weren't." Greg sang softly, writing something on a report next to him.

Simone smiled and kissed her brother on the cheek, pulling Nick out of Greg's lab with her, into the one across the hall.

The process of pouring charcoal shavings over the newly plastic encased piece of paper didn't take long. After ten minutes, Simone proudly held out the paper to her lover.

"Andre's, Nine o'clock."

Nick grabbed the paper and gave Simone a kiss that left her standing in a daze. Catherine knocked on the door, snapping the younger girl into attention.

"Simone...I hate to ask...Do you have any balls?"

Simone blinked.

"Excuse me?"

CSICSICSICSI

"Okay...What are you two doing?"

"Proving that you aren't responsible for a building falling down." Simone said, distracted by her work, not really caring about Paul Newsome at the moment.

"I grew on you didn't I?"

"Don't push it." She rolleed her eyes.

"The damaged support column buckled. Took the apartment down with it. Why?" Catherine questioned.

"The weight wasn't evenly distributed to the load-bearing walls by the joists..." Paul trailed off, waiting for more of an explaination.

"Good." Simone nodded. "We're all on the same page. Now we put a section of the floor assembly into the tank. Add in a few of my dog's rubber balls, some of Cath's daughters rubber balls too, and two sub-woofers."

"And you put the whole thing on vibration isolators."

"Exactly. I suspect that vibrations may be the main cause of the collapse." And with that, Catherine turned on the ever faithful Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, First Movement allegro con brio.

"Are you two saying that Beethoven brought the building down?"

"No, dumbass. There's an air-force military base less than a mile away. The hell do you think brought the building down?"

"Okay, okay. Jeez."

Catherine grinned at Simone, and turned the music up.

"Watch my balls." Simone smirked.

"The nails are rotating. Like screws. Righty tighty."

"Lefty loosey." Simone pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"Loose nails. Bounce in the joists."

"Multiplied by fifty years of fly-by's."

They all pictured it. Plane after plane, vibrating the nails, until the rather grusome outcome of a collapsed building.

"So you're pointing the finger at the air force?"

"NO!" Simone shook her head. "Bastards could kick our asses!"

"What Simone meas is beetles, sabotage dry-rot, and time."

"Am I off the hook then?"

"Yes," Catherine nodded. "Anything you wanna say?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. You could have saved yourselves a lot of time by not making me a suspect in the first place."

Paul smiled knowingly and walked away.

"You're welcome. Ya jackass." Simone grabbed one of the rubber balls at threw it at the retreating District Engineer. "BALLS TO YOU!"

"Simone!"

"Catherine!" Simone mocked, a grin settling on her features.

Catherine just smirked and shook her head.


	26. Chapter 26

Simone couldn't do it. She could even go _near_ this case. Grissom and Catherine both understood that. So they had her do simple tasks, ones that didn't involve having to see a dead baby. But when she saw Grissom fucking up her brothers work, she knew she was going to have to get involved.

"Grissom! Leave him alone. I'll do the tests okay?" Simone glared at him.

"Don't get involved in this, Simone."

"I'm involved in this, Grissom." She snatched the Zachary Anderson case file from Grissom's hands. "Maybe you should be a little less involved."

"Simone, DNA isn't your job. It's Greg's. If he isn't going to do it-"

"HE WAS DOING HIS JOB! You tossed it out of the room on a cart. Seriously Grissom. We'll catch the guy, but you've got to give us the chance. Terrorizing the people who get this shit done as fast as they can isn't as professional as you seem to think it is!"

"It isn't about being professional. It's about catching a killer."

"Yeah? Well, the way you're acting right now? Not gonna catch the killer. It's gonna let him slip away. You remember what you told Sara? Nothing is personal. No victim should be special. Everyone follows you. You're the leader."

"Everyone didn't find that baby. I did. And he is dead because someone lost their temper, or screwed up, or who knows." Grissom lowered his voice to barely over a whisper. "So excuse me, but this victim is special."

Grissom walked out, and Simone turned around, grabbing a vial of blood. Greg watched his sister carefully, waiting for the clear signs of a break down.

"Simone..."

"Don't talk, Greg. Just work. For God's sake, just work, please."

Greg nodded, and grabbed a vial too.

CSICSICSICSI

"You should probably give them this in person, 'Rick." Simone avoided eye contact as she handed Warrick the DNA results.

"I will." He turned to walk away, but paused, looking back at his favorite little white girl. "Hey...You alright?"

"Mmhmm."

"Simone..."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm alright. Just. You should probably give that to Griss."

"Okay..."

CSICSICSICSI

"Simone." Catherine took a seat across from the younger girl, who was writing down evidence from a different case, helping Greg get rid of the backlogging. Simone rose her eyes to meet Catherine's, then they drifted to Grissom who was lingering awkwardly in the doorway. She dropped her eyes and continued writing.

"Yes?"

"Anderson cheated on his wife." Grissom stated.

"With his secretary. I heard."

"Well," Grissom crossed his arms, leaning on the frame. "What if Mrs. Anderson knew about it."

"Wait, wait, wait. Woman kills the son to get back at the husband for an affair?" Catherine shook her head. "Doesn't make sense. A woman would typically go after the husband not the baby."

Simone stood and went to a microscope.

"It's unusual, yes, but not unheard of." She wrote the results down too. "There have been instances where women killed their children to get back at a spouse. Particularly if there has been an affair, and particularly if the child was male."

"Well, I don't buy it. I just don't, Doc." Simone rolled her eyes at that. "Simone, Mrs. Anderson really loved that baby.."

"Well, Maybe why that's why the mama is in so much pain now?"

"Greg, nose. Down microscope. NOW!"

"Fine," Greg whined. "Stupid little sister. Stupid doctorate. Stupid...world."

"The guy cheats, but the mom commits murder. How come moms always end up the bad guy with you Freud types?"

"Wha- Whatever. Turns out-" Simone handed Catherine a folder. "- This mom is a bad guy. Mr. Violent-Son? She Gave him SBS. Shook the kid so hard, he had to go to the hospital. She shook him into unconciousness."

"Is-is this authentic?"

"There's a statemnet in there from the arresting officer from Oregon. Mrs. Anderson is a known child abuser."

CSICSICSICSI

"Simone?" Grissom sat across from the girl. Greg had gone home for the day. Simone had decided to finish off the logging. "Hey!" He placed his hand over hers, stopping her writing.

"What?"

"I'm sorry!"

Her eyes met his.

"Really?" She was an obvious skeptic by nature.

"Yes, really. You were right. My temper? It was getting us nowhere. It was actually you that got the case moving along. All I managed to do was scare Greg."

"Shitless." Simone agreed. Grissom chuckled.

"So...Go home."

"I'm just going to finish this. Being back logged is annoying as a mother fucker."

"Oh, Alright." Grissom smiled and went to head out. "It was Robbie."

"What?" Simone looked up again.

"The killer. It was Robbie."

"Oh..."

"I just thought you should know."

"Thanks."

"Goodnight Simone."

"'Night, Griss."

CSICSICSICSI

"Shh!" Simone quietly hushed Dallas. She picked her yapping puppy up and stroked his soft fur. She sighed and set him on the ground. She locked the door before sitting down on one of the three steps that led up into the house. She pulled her converse off, tossing them into her room as she passed the door. She walked through the house, past the two guestrooms and the guest bathroom, past the kitchen and dining room.

She knocked lightly on Gregs door, knowing he wouldn't be asleep yet.

"Greg?"

"Yeah?" He looked up from the book he was reading, seeing the signs he'd been looking for all day. "Oh, Simone, come here."

Tears welled up in her eyes but she crawled into Greg's bed and into her brother's arms.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"He was just a baby, Greg! W-what if I have Nick's baby? What if it dies? I won't be able to handle that! What would I do!" Simone sobbed quietly.

"We would all help you through it. You know we would. You'd handle it." Greg pressed multiple kisses to his sisters temple, and just held her. Pretty soon, her tears stopped and she was in a deep sleep.

He cursed quietly when the doorbell rang. It was like a siren in the silence of the house. It was about ten in the morning. He'd gotten out of work at eight thirty. Simone about an hour later.

He opened the door. He had the perfect response formulating in his mind but it all washed away once he saw the girl standing there.

"Uh. Hi. Sorry this was a bad idea. I'm just going to go." The Australian accent just made the girl even more wonderful.

"No, no. Sorry, it's just, my sister's asleep. I'm Greg Sanders. Did you-Did you need something?"

"Uhm." The Girl pushed a strand of long brown hair behind her ear. "Sorry. I'm Mimi. Demitria. I just moved in to the house next door." Demitria pointed at the house that Frank and Marge owned. Well technically they owned all three houses. Greg and Simone payed them 800 a month. All three houses together equaled around 288,000 a year.

"Oh. That...That's awesome. Um...Welcome to the neighborhood?" Greg chuckled nervously.

"Uh...Thanks." Demitria rubbed the back of her neck.

"Okay...Simone's going to kill me if I don't do this. You wanna get dinner with us some time? Me, Simone and her boyfriend Nick, I mean? Well technically it'll have to be breakfas or...brunch cuz we work nights but-"

"Sure, Greg." Mimi smiled. "I'd like that. Um...Here." She held out her phone. Greg egarly took it and typed in his number, Simone's, and the house phone for good measure. He handed it back. "Uh...I'll call to make plans?"

"Yeah, sure! Definately! I look foreward to it!"

"Okay." Mimi chuckled. She smiled at him and turned to walk down the walkway. Greg grinned and closed the door. Then began to instantly scold himself.

"I look forward to it?" He scoffed softly. Dallas picked his head up from his doggy bed and yapped quietly. "What are you laughing at, Dal?" The dog barked again. "Shut up before you wake your mommy up!" Greg laughed, patting the dog on the head as he lay on the couch to sleep, seeing as his sister took over his bed.

In the next house over, the house on the right, Marge looked up from her oats.

"Frank? Why would we get even more kids to move in? Them Sanders siblings make enough racket as it is!"

"Shut up, Woman, and eat your oats!"


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: I'm skipping all the way to the finale of the episode, mainly because I'm a lazy little bitch. :) Thanks to Icy(Aka the Girl Mimi is modled after. Demitria Cazna Bottoms. Though only one of those names are hers) who gave me an inspiring idea for this.

Eileen Snow gasped as she sat up in bed. Her blonde hair was messed up from her fitful sleep. Her blue eyes darted around the room. Not seeing anything, she sighed and closed her eyes, laying back down.

She heard a floorboard squeak and shot back up. Lightning flashed lighting up the room just long enough for her to see the man in the hoodie wrapping the cord of her iron around his hands. He snapped it tight. The iron fell as Eileen backed away from him.

She screamed. Lightning flashed.

Grissom walked into the crime scene, his eyes darting from the victim to Simone, who was taking pictures.

"Eileen Jane Snow." Brass sighed. "The lady she carpools with couldn't get her to answer the door. Cops broke in."

"It's the same as the other two."

"Audrey Hayes was strangled in her basement. The other one in a park." Brass slid his eyes over to Simone as well. She was uncharacteristically silent.

"It's a different M.O. But the same signature." Grissom explained.

"M.O. is how he breaks in. Signature is what he does when he's inside."

"Three or four overpowering blows to the back of the head," Simone finally spoke up. "with a home made weapon fashioned at the scene." She took a picture of the iron next to Eileen Snow's body. "Forces her to drink a mixture of sodium amytal as a chemical restraint." She took a picture of a glass on the floor. "Overligature of the victim," She took a deep breath. "And an object rape. Then comes the strangulation. Ejaculating on the bedsheets when he's done."

Sara walked in, and like the rest, her eyes darted from Simone, to the victim and back again.

"And as an act of final degradation, he poses her like a pinup."

"Damn it." Sara was the first to get fed up with this. With Simone acting like all of this killers victims could pass as a copy of herself. "Damn him!" She stormed out. This latest girl could have been Simone's twin, if not for the blue eyes now dulled by a sheen of white.

Simone cleared her throat and walked out of the room, handing Grissom the camera as she went.

"Sara!"

"You're going to go about your work and act like none of them look like you? He's escalating!"

"Yeah. That's a pattern. It's a continuum."

"What, does he want to get caught?"

"No, Signature killers never do. And they never stop until they are."

Sara stared at Simone as she went back into the crime scene.

CSICSICSICSI

"Simone, Gil." The Sheriff walked halfway through the door. Bot CSI's looked up from their work. Warrick had found a hair and bagged it when the red-head cop walked in. "Can we get a minute?"

Grrissom looked at Simone, who shrugged. They both walked out side by side with the Sheriff

"I'm bringing in the FBI."

"You're bringing in the FBI? WHY?" Simone gaped.

"They offered their services. I'm inclined to accept them. I-uh- Just wanted to make sure it was okay with you."

"That's Grissom's decision."

"Not when the lead investigator decided you weren't good enough to stay in Vegas for. Oh, Agent Kelly!"

"Sheriff." The young, Christian Bale looking FBI agent smiled charmingly. That same charming smile that had at one point, gotten Simone into his bed. It now repulsed her and made her crave the taste of Nick's skin and the look in his eyes when he saw her. "And Mr. Grissom, if I remember correctly. And Simone, of course. How are you, Mona? We should go out to dinner after this."

"Yeah, no, sorry, Jack. No can do. I-uh- I have to solve a murder!" Simone rolled her eyes and left Grissom to talk to the cocky bastard.

CSICSICSICSI

"Bout time," Doc Robbins sighed.

"Sorry." Simone sighed, slipping on her white coat. "Whattayah got, Doc?"

"Nothing you couldn't already deduce from the scene. He blunt force trauma to the back of the head, sodium amytal."

"A hypnotic."

Simone nodded.

"It allows control for up to six hours. He tourtered her, Nick. See the bruises? Purple. Means she was alive."

"Percussive control." Nick realized. He folded his arms around Simone and held her against him tightly.

"So he choked her unconcious and brought her to multiple times. What about the rape?" Grissom asked.

"Same as the others. Indeterminant object causing severe internal lacerations. He did slip up, though. There was a small trace of something creviced in the uterine wall. Looks like an everyday polymer to me..."

Simone took the tweezers with the trace. A closer look revealed the letters THA.

"Alright. I'll uh- I'll head back down to the crime scene and see if I can find anything like it."

"Okay. I'm going with."

"Be careful!" Grissom ordered. "The cliche is true. Signatures-"

"Return to their scenes. Got it." Simone nodded, with a grin, patting her gun.

"Will do." Nick added.

CSICSICSICSI

"Greg, seriously, I can't argue with you. Okay? No just test it. Because I know men. I know what fucking men is-Oh shut up- just test it for ketchup. Why? Red substance in semen. Not blood; Something else. Idiots use katchup to mask DNA. Greg I read that's how I know. Plus the only other red thing that you could put would be hotsauce-Pause for collective ahhouch- exactly, Teddy. Okay. Yes, I love you too. Bye."

Simone sighed as she hung up the phone. Honestly, they were directly across the hall from each other, but they were too damn lazy. Grissom knocked on the door, a scowl on his face, and waved her out of the room.

She followed obediently after her boss, shrugging at her brother through the glass windows of his lab. Everyone else, with the exception of Catherine was trailing behind slower.

"They paged everyone but us."

Simone stared at him, and then a scowl set on her face as well. She charged ahead, angry with that ass hole that once had her heart.

"Oh, you all got my page. Good."

"I didn't" Grissom protested calmly. "Simone didn't."

"We'll get you a new battery. Simone was probably goofing off with Grant or whatever his name is."

"Greg." Simone replied with gritted teeth.

"Exactly. Anyway I thought we'd convo about the strangler. Tell us what you've got and we'll formulate our next move."

"Simone..." Grissom knew she was the only person that could handle this man.

"Jack." Jack raised an eyebrow and smirked. Simone sighed. "Agent Kelly. CSI Grissom and I will be happy to pass on any pertainant information regarding the signature case."

"Okay. Got anything to share?"

"You first."

"Okay. I know you've noticed the appearence of every single one of the victims. All blonde, and heights ranging from 5 foot 5 to 5 foot 8. All with slim figures, but strong enough to put up a fight. All with an IQ at least ten points over 130."

Nick knew instantly where this was going.

"No!" He snapped.

"Be quiet. Now." She ordered. The voice she used made him flinch. He gave her one last pleading, desperate look before lapsing into silence.

"You can't be serious." Grissom snapped. Simone just turned and continued to stare Jack down. "Simone?" Grissom got no response, so he turned back to Jack as well. "You can't bait this guy with a human being."

"Do you have a better idea?" Jack retorted.

"Understanding this guy. Completely."

"And if he kills again while we're waiting to understand?" Simone asked. She had place both her hands on the table and was leaning her weight on them, head down, eyes closed.

"Simone..." Nick pleaded again.

"He's not going to kill my CSI." Grissom protested.

"I'm going to do it, Grissom."

"Too dangerous."

"I'm trained in most forms of martial arts."

"Well that's to bad, because that's what turns him on!" Nick snapped. "Women who fight back. It gives him a sense of power, when he makes his final kill."

"Nick, I'm not fighting you about this." She sighed. He put his hands on her face, cradling her cheeks in his palms.

"Then don't do it..."

"Nick."

"Sit down Simone." Grissom's voice went hard. Simone stared at him, before rolling her eyes and sitting down in a chair, crossing her arms and legs.

"Okay." Jack conceeded. He glanced at Simone, who nodded inconspiciously. "If we're to follow your line of thinking, you ahead of him?"

"Nope." Simone pulled a magazine off of the table, flipping through it absently.

"Simone you're acting like a child." Warrick teased.

"Yep." She flipped him off.

"Not yet. He thinks he's throwing us off by planting false hairs. He probably shaves his hair, maybe his whole body, to avoid DNA detection. He may use a garden variety bath-towel to gag his victims. He brings it and takes him with him. He'll go after another average height blonde with an IQ over 130, and the torture will be worse, considerably. Only this time he won't ejaculate at the scene."

"At home, later. He's learning control."

"Do you think he knows his next victim?" Sara asked quietly.

"Signature killers always know their next victim. But they don't know him." Grissom turned to look at Sara, and then at Simone. "Until he tortures, rapes and kills them."

CSICSICSICSI

Nick and Simone arrived back at the scene, ready to process again. Simone walked in first, choosing not to tell Nick about the reporter hiding in the closet. She'd make noise and alert him eventually.

Simone turned the flashlight on, spotting something just barely under the skirt of the bed. She whistled softly, and Nick came over. He leaned down and picked it up. It was a broken piece of latex glove. A creak of floorboards came from the closet and Nicks head snapped in that direction. Simone hid her smirk in her gloved hand. This was going to be funny, to say the least.

Nick walked over to the closet slowly. The door slammed open, the light came on. Both Nick and the reported screamed.

"Hey! Hey!" Nick snapped, hand on his gun. "Get outta there, Get outta the closet."

Simone chuckled quietly, bagging the piece of glove.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Nick's voice broke and Simone snorted loudly.

"I'm a reporter!" The woman protested. "We knew the police were with-holding evidence so I came down here to-"

"Alright, quiet, quiet." Nick stopped her. He was still breathing really hard. "Are you out of your mind I could have killed you! This is a crime scene, you don't belong here! Unless you want me to get the cop at the front door you'll get out of here. Now I better not see any pictures of this apartment in your paper. Or I'll have the DA on your front door!"

"Look I-I'm sorry I scared you..."

"You didn't scare me! Uh-uh!" Nick shook his head. Simone rolled her eyes. 'That's right Nick. She didn't scare you. She terrified the SHIT out of you.'

"Right." The reporter didn't seem convinced. "Wanna tell me what you found over by the window?"

"Nope," Nick shook his head again.

"Okay." She sighed. Nick waited for the reporter to leave before turning and giving the rolling-on-the-floor Simone a terrified glance. He kicked her lightly muttering about how it wasn't funny.

CSICSICSICSI

"Ooooh. Mommy and daddy are fighting again..." Simone and Greg were wasting time, walking through the halls, instead of working. Well. Greg wasn't working. Simone was informing Grissom of something. "Guys. Stop fighting for five minutes and listen to what Nick and I found."

Grissom and Catherine turned to Simone, identical looks of annoyance on their faces.

"He's wearing gloves. Latex, our kind, the thick ones. He must know the thin ones leave prints." She handed Catherine the evidence bag with the broken piece of latex in it.

"When we zig." Catherine handed the glove to Grissom. "He Zags."

Simone nodded and left. Greg had gone back to his lab, leaving his sister all alone.

"Hey!" Jack caught up to her at the vending machines. "Ready?"

"Yeah, Jacko. Let's do this, come on."

The drove the ops, being held under a bridge. Jack instantly had people start wiring Simone up.

"Okay, listen up!" He ordered. "All personel will be teathered to our Decoy with this radio! Simone. Explain some things, yeah?"

"ALRIGHT! Two of the signature killer's victims were seen at this grocery store. Two days after they were here they were dead." Simone looked to her left, seeing Grissom's Tahoe pull up, with the man himself and Brass hopping out and coming up to the van they were in. "There's a very good chance he'll come back and look for his next victim."

"This is a pretty flimsy excuse to get your circus up and running, don't you think Agent Kelly?" Grissom snapped.

"Lives are at stake. I'll take flimsy over nothing."

"This is action for action, Kelly. You're risking my girlfriends life." Nick had been in the back of the Tahoe. Simone sighed, placing her hand on Jack's arm. He nodded and made his agents leave. Grissom went to argue with the man just a little more.

"Nick, I agreed, okay. I want to stop this guy." She put her hands on his chest.

"Well, Grissom says that if we study his past-"

"Grissom's been saying that for weeks. It's taking way too long. Someone else will die, and you're still going to be figuring it out."

Nick stared at her, shocked.

"Okay, we're good to go." Jack told her, climbing into the van.

"I'm doing this. So just wish me luck."

Simone was about to climb into the van, but Nick swung her back to look at him. He pressed his lips to hers in a furious, passionate kiss.

"Good Luck. Be careful." He kissed her again. "I am not going on that thing with your brother and Mimi without you. So you better not die."

"I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too. Now go. Go!"

Simone smiled and climbed into the van Nick motioned at Grissom, and he the older man pulled himself in as well.

CSICSICSICSI

_This is boring._ Simone had a basket in her hand and she was doing the same thing she'd been doing for the last three hours. Wandering the aisles of a damn grocery store.

She hadn't been approached by anyone. She was pretending to look at spices when she spotted a man looking at her out of the corner of her eye. When she saw him coming towards her, she sank herself into the roll of single, vulnerable, defenseless woman shopping for food. Truth was she was already anaylizing this guy and anticipating every move he made.

"Do- uh- do you have a smoke?" He asked, a charming smile on his face.

"Uh...Yeah, actually!" Simone smiled bashfully. She went into the purse that wasn't hers and pulled out a pack of ciggaretts.

"I've been trying to quit, I didn't want to buy a pack."

"Me too." Simone laughed. "This is my last pack. Although, I say that every week."

"Unfiltered?" The man asked. "Most women I know, they smoke filtered, those long skinny ciggaretts."

"Well, depends on the woman I guess."

"Yes, it does! Got a light?"

"Uh, yeah," Simone reached back into the decoy purse and dug around.

"You live around here?"

"Maybe?" Simone looked up and smiled. "I don't usually give out that kind of information."

"Yeah, that's probably smart. I wouldn't tell me, either." Simone smiled. She turned herself away, and grabbed the man's hand when he reached in the purse. He had the fake wallet in his hand. Simone rolled her eyes and snatched it back as three FBI agents pressed the man against the wall. She gave Grissom the wallet, a look of boredom on her face.

Jack got a call.

"Okay, boys. This is not our man."

"Oh, yeah? What was your first clue?"

"Murder at the Monaco Hotel." Jack bit his lip at the harsh glare on his ex girlfriends face. She growled ad punched him in the gut. Jack coughed and gasped for air. He waved away and agent who tried to help him. "Let's just go. She's fine."

"He met the profile." She whispered softly. Grissom wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to do nothing."

He led his youngest CSI out of the store.

CSICSICSICSI

"I can't believe he's such a fucking idiot." Simone ran a hand over her face, laying on the futon in Greg's lab.

"Who?" Greg asked.

"Fucking JACK!" Simone growled. "He's putting an innocent man-well, mostly innocent; he killed his wife- up for three other crimes he didn't commit! AND he's going to get Grissom FIRED, and it's pissing me off, and I should go kick his ass!"

"Okay, okay, calm down, sis."

Simone sighed, then shot up. She met up with Catherine, and then the entire Night-Shift team, minus the lab techs, all headed over to Grissom's in their Tahoes. They waited for around ten minutes, before Catherine came out from talking to Grissom. Then they all headed up.

"We need to re-examine each victim-all the evidence pretaining to each one individually." Grissom said.

Simone nodded.

"Right, Nick and I got Eileen Snow."

"And I have a feeling that We'll be the ones to break the case."

"Tracy Burg." Sara sighed.

"Alright I got Jessica Hayes, but I can tell you now those fibers we found in the Snow-lady's throat aren't going to give us anything. White cotton fibers are like oxygen. They're everywhere." Warrick explained.

"Well, then we go back to our crime scenes and find persistance of fibers." Simone replied, Pulling on a jean jacket that she'd found in her Tahoe.

"If you can't prove uniqueness prove abundance. Got it."

"It's better than nothing!" Grissom added.

CSICSICSICSI

"Hey, you remember that guy? The Security gaurd that said he saw someone burn rubber outside of Eileen Snow's apartment?" Simone had her phone to her ear, looking at a picture over Nick's shoulder.

"Yeah, I remember." Grissom agreed.

"Well there are no tire marks. None. Plenty of old oil marks, but that's it. And we called Brass, yeah, no one took any photos of tire marks. No one did."

"Simone, you do realize you're messing with united states evidence there, beautiful." Jack walked into the room.

"Jack, High-tail it." Simone ordered. "We're trying to have a moment here! What? No, Greg, that's why I was trying to hang up on you. Hey, don't forget to feed the dog if you get home before me!"

"Uh-huh." Jack rolled his eyes and walked out.

Simone watched him leave and them quickly dialed Catherine.

"Catherine. Grissom is going to go to a sequrity gaurds apartment." She flipped through the file. "Yeah, yeah, he lives at the apartment complex two blocks from Fremont Street. Well, yeah! How else would he catch the guy Lady? I mean it's Grissom, what else would he do?"

CSICSICSICSI

"Simone." Jack caught up with her just before she got in her Tahoe.

"What, Jack? I have brother to get home to, and a date to get ready for."

"That's kind of what I wanted to talk about." He sighed. "Stokes is a good guy."

"Yeah. Yeah he is. Guess who isn't a good guy..."

"Yes, dear, I'm on your shit list. I get that. I wanted to say...Listen, if my father gave me any other choice, I'd have picked the one that let me stay in vegas with you. But he didn't give me that choice, and I realize that all of this screwed you, and us up. I want to give us another chance."

"No." Simone shook her head. "Did you know I was raped? Kidnapped and tortured? Guess who was there for me during that? It wasn't you. It was Nick. He's the only one other than you that has managed to reach in and grab my heart. And you know what? He's the only one that's managed to leave it in one piece. You broke me, Jack. And Nick fixed me." Simone turned and opened the door to her Tahoe. "Go find a street walker to get into your bed." She slammed the door and took off, leaving Jack standing there in shock.


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: DUN DUN DUNNNNNN! The Date! I made A Greg/Mimi banner. It's on my profile under the banners link.

"Greg...You don't need the suit. take it off and put on some jeans. She's coming over here for the specific reason of not having to dress up."

"Wha-but...HELP!"

Simone rolled her eyes, she went into her brother's closet, choosing to ignore Dallas doing figure eights around her legs. 3oh!3's Robot was playing loudly on repeat throughout their house. They had a speaker system in the family room, the speaker were everywhere in the house. Expensive to install, but Simone had enough for it.

"Okay. Loose the white dress shirt and tie." She ordered. "And put this on." She tossed him a black dress shirt instead. He pulled it on, knowing that trusting his sister's judgement in fashion. Simone tossed him some dark washed jeans, crossing into his bathroom and grabbing the hairspray.

Greg followed like a lost puppy.

"Sis, I really like this one." He sighed. He sat on the toilet when Simone pushed on his shoulders. They heard the front door open and the music lowered. Nick called out to them.

"In Greg's Bathroom!" Simone shouted back, gunning her fingers through her brother's hair, spraying it with hairspray so it stuck up in the classic manner that was Gregory Hojem-Sanders. "Just don't take her DNA, Greg."

"Hey, Baby." Nick kissed behind her ear. "Greg."

"Okay, please don't use my name in the same sentence as the word 'baby'." Greg pleaded.

"How was breakfast with the team?" Simone ignored Greg.

"It was alright. Your douchebag ex-boyfriend took credit, but it was alright."

"My douchebag ex-boyfriend tried to get back with me too. I told his ass off, though." Simone scrunched up her face as she sprayed herself with the hairspray as well, setting the the loose hairs into place.

"Good...Should we start making dinner?" Nick held up a bag in his hand.

"We should. Mimi'll be here in five minutes." Simone grabbed Nick by the jacket and pulled him out of Greg's personal area, into the Kitchen. As Nick was setting up, The doorbell rang.

"GREG! DOOR!" Simone called, cutting the chicken into cubes.

"I got it!" Greg pulled the front door open. "Hi." He grinned stupidly at Mimi. He noticed the bag at her side as he held the door open. Dallas was sitting next to him, thumping his tail on the wood floor excitedly. "Did you just get in from school?"

"Yeah." Greg led Mimi into the kitchen lightly by the elbow. "Class ran a little late."

"Oh. That kind of sucks. Mimi this is Simone, and her boyfriend Nick. Guys, this is Demitria."

"Hi," Simone wiped her hands on a towel and shook the girls hand. They seemed to be around the same age. Twenty one. She caught her brother's eye, and looked expectantly at the fridge, silently coaching him.

"Oh, Mimi, sit." Greg pulled a chair at the counter for her. "Want something to drink? Water? Soda? Wine? Mike's Hard Lemonade?"

"Uh. Just water, for now. Thanks."

"So, Mimi...What's your major?" Simone accepted the Grape Juice her brother presented to her, handing the water bottle to Mimi.

"Uh, Music."

"Hm..Play any instruments?"

"Yes, I play the piano and alto saxophone. I sing, too."

"Better than Greg, I hope." Nick commented dryly, cutting up mushrooms. Simone chuckled softly and bumped his hip with her own. Greg was choking on the Pepsi he'd just taken a drink of when Nick spoke.

"You...Jerk." He gasped. Simone laughed outright.

"Huh." Nick rolled his eyes. He took mushrooms, and set them aside.

"Uh...Can I help?" Mimi asked after a few seconds of companianable silence.

"Sure. Come wash your hands first." Simone nodded towards the sink. Mimi hurried to do so. "Okay. First, cut this in half, lengthwise." She handed Mimi a baguette and a knife.

"Okay. So...Simone, you're a Forensic Anthropologist, right?"

"Yes." Simone cast an annoyed look at her brother.

"What's it like?"

"Gross." Simone shrugged. "But it foots our Itunes bill."

Greg snorted.

"And the MAC bill. And the Lush bill. And the Sephora bill."

"I'm a girl, Teddy. Get used to seeing various make-up products in boxes on out front porch."

"Seriously. All of that, babe?" Nick asked, getting a skillet and putting the chicken, olive oil and one teaspoon of softened butter in it. He let it simmer for a second.

"Don't you dare say something cheesy like 'Because you don't need it'. Or I may loose last nights midnight steak and eggs." Simone grabbed a small bowl. "Greg, can you get me the sour cream and parmasean, please?"

Greg pushed off the wall to get what his sister asked for.

"Gran-gran's recipie?" He asked, handing her the ingredients as well as some pepper, salt and garlic powder.

"Is there any other way to make it?" She chuckled. "Thank you. Mimi, can you put these in a bowl?" She handed Mimi the sour cream and parmasean. Mimi nodded and began mixing.

Nick tried the chicken, moaning in satisfaction. He drained the skillet, and added in mushrooms, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Simone set the timer for two minutes.

"Done!" Mimi handed the bowl back to Simone. "Here."

"Thanks." Simone slathered the spread onto the bread. The timer went off, and Nick pulled the chicken off the stove. He used a wooden spoon to put it over the sour cream and parmasean bread, adding a little mozzarella. Simone put it into the oven for about five minutes.

"Greg, the Mummy?" Simone asked.

"Okay, definately." Greg went down into Simone's room to get the movie, and Nick ushered Mimi into the living room to sit on the couch. Greg set the movie up, and Simone brought in the four plates of food.

Mimi was the first to try the food. Her eyes widened, and she inhaled sharply, closing her eyes in pleasure.

"Oh my goodness, this is delicious."

"It always tastes better when someone in the Hojem-Sanders family makes it. Greg and I have both tried it in resturants, but we can always taste the subtle difference.

"No garlic powder." Greg stated. And that was the end of that, everyone was engrosed in the movie, not speaking. Halfway through, Greg and Mimi had fallen asleep. Simone nudged Nick gently in the ribs and gestured to the two, slowly easing herself off the couch. Nick followed, neading her assistance to be as graceful in the action. Nick walked to the door and waited for her to cover Mimi and Greg up, shut off the movie, take their plates and shut off the lights.

"I'll get going now, babe. I like her. She's good for him."

"Yes. She is."

"Don't tease them too hard when they wake up, now." Nick smiled.

"Oh, I won't. I'm going to bring these left overs to Frank and Marge, alright?"

"Okay. Hey." Simone looked up at him. "I love you."

Simone smiled.

"I love you, too."

He kissed her gently on the temple and walked to his Tahoe. He gave her one last look before closing driving away.

Simone made her way over to Frank and Marge's house. She could hear the distinct sound of Rachael and Nicolett Desperau talking just inside the door. Simone hadn't known about the visit. therwise she'd have made more food. Oh well.

"Knock, knock, Nicolette." She lightly kicked the door. It swung open and revealed Frank and Marge's granddaughter, Rachael.

"Hey, Rach!"

"Hey, Simone."

"We just had dinner, figured I'd bring your grand parents some. I didn't know you'd be here, otherwise-"

"You'd have made more. We got it."

"Oh, Simone, thank God!" Nicolette smiled. "Can you watch Rachael for me tomorrow?"

"I have work-"

"Great! So I'll just pick her up at nine AM?"

"Yeah, okay. Sure, whatever."

""Thanks for the food. Okay bye!" Nicolette was obviously drunk, and slammed the door in Simone's face. Simone cleared her throat, rolled her eyes and walked away.


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: Rachael is my oc from 'A Tale Of Two Taylors'

"I can't believe you're actually taking me to work with you. Again!" Rachael laughed. "I'm fifteen years old!"

"And your mother is a drunk. She doesn't realize I still work with dead people. And now the dead people have skin." Simone pinched Rachael's cheek. "You'll just be with Greg all day, probably. If Grissom won't let me take you on scene."

"Maybe he will." Rachael shrugged. "And it's okay if I have to hang with Greg all day. Greg's awesome."

Simone chuckled. She didn't bother disagreeing. The fact that Greg was the coolest mother fucker in the world had already been proven time and time again. Especially over the four months that Rachael and her mother had been staying at Frank and Marge's.

She pulled her Tahoe up at the crime scene. Simone pulled her kit out of the back.

"Grissom! Company! It's the Stow-Away!"

"As long as she doesn't touch anything! Come over here!"

Simone met a detective at the door. Grissom and Catherine were on their knees. Grissom had his flashlight in hand, looking for...something. After a few seconds, Grissom held up a contact lense.

"Here you go Detective."

"Thanks!" The Detective grabbed the contact, and stuck it in his mouth to clean it. "Little tired. Double shift."

"I know the feeling." Simone grinned. "This is Tony Brauns house?"

"Son of Sam Braun." Catherine confirmed.

"He was Steve Wynn before Steve Wynn." Grissom added.

"Bet your fur! Sam came to Vegas when Vegas was dying. Built three casinos in a year. Man had ties to Bugsy Siegal." Simone put her gloves on before they got any farther into the house.

Grissom led them into the living room, Rachael hovering cautiously in the doorway. Brass was standing there watching for them.

"Wish I had Tony Brauns gardener working for me! That man sniffed it out from the jump." He said as soon as the CSI's came into sight. "Blinds drawn shut. Gate opened in the front, dogs let out. A plus B plus C equals 9-1-1.

Simone's eyes jumped around the room, taking every visual thing in.

"It seems all calm and peaceful." Grissom mused. Catherine picked up a piece of tin foil that was on the ground.

"Chase the Dragon." She stated. "A little bit of 'H', heat the foil, inhale the fumes."

"With a Xanex back." Grissom held up a perscription bottle. "Filled yesterday!"

"So it's true what they've been saying! Baby boy Braun is a drug addict." Simone mused. "Oh, if only life were as simple."

CSICSICSICSI

"Eight rolls, two copies. Case is hot, put a rush on it!" Sara ordered a courrier. Simone was kneeing by the body, taking samples of adhesive residue on Braun's wrists. "You loose an earing?" She smirked.

" Some one did...He was bound with tape of some kind," Simone stated.

"Braun had company." Sara decided.

"Welcome, or un-welcome?"

"Simone, where's the purge? Car blows it's engine, there's an oil leak. A man OD's, where's the body fluid? Waste, sweat, vomit?"

"Sombody cleaned him up? And look," Simone ran her hand over the red spots on Braun's chest. "Interesting love bites, yeah?"

"Woah there!" Sara leaned closer to get a better look. "That's strange..."

"Mm-hmm. And He's posed."

"When, exactly, did you think this was a murder?"

"Initially?"

"Yeah."

"When I saw the TV on." Simone pointed to the still-on television.

"Simone, Nick is here." Catherine walked in the room.

"Right, on it." Simone stood and gave Catherine her spot. She walked outside to see her boyfriend, sitting on the ground, wearing his glasses, and playing with Braun's dogs. He looked up and grinned at Simone.

"I'll tell you two things. Those glasses make you sexy. And If those were my dogs I wouldn't leave the gate open."

"Victim was a crackhead. Obviously not too responsible." Nick stated.

"Gardener says it's the first time in five years that he's found this gate unlocked." Simone replied.

"What's so different about this morning?" Nick asked, standing and facing Simone through the gate.

"Last morning of Tony Braun's life? Maybe someone from the inside opened it, or they maybe had a key, because this lock hasn't been forced. No pry marks, no metal shavings."

"So...Why was the gate open?"

Simone looked back up at Nick and their eyes locked.

CSICSICSICSI

"Hey, Doc! And Simone?"

Simone grinned at Grissom.

"His leg fell asleep." Simone pointed at Doc Robins, who was sitting in a chair trying to fix his prostetic leg. "So I'm doing the autopsy."

"Well then, what do you have?"

"No needle marks on his arms. Tony plays golf, short sleeved shirts. I checked between the toes and the groin area. Whatever the dearly departed did, went up his nose. His nasel Cavity looks like raw hamburger."

"What about the abrasions on his mouth? Hard to shave when you're stoned?"

"Grissom, dear! That's the kind of comment I'd make." Simone grinned. "I believe they're pressure marks. Like when someone holds a pillow or another object over the nose or mouth in the climate of struggle."

"Petechial hemmoraging, also suggests suffocation."

"Ehh, not always. Vessles can rupture under innocent circumstances. Like a violent cough. Greg had Petechial hemmorages when he had the flu two years ago."

"Did you find out what these are?" Grissom pointed out the three red marks.

"I don't know."

"It's hard to OD just inhaling heroine."

"And he was restrained. You're thinking someone forced him to ingest lethal amounts of heroine and Xanex?"

Grissom said nothing, he just looked at Simone pointedly. The younger CSI bit her lip.

CSICSICSICSI

"Jesus, Nick." Simone sighed. Grissom walked into the room.

"Have you tasted this coffee?"

"Nah." Nick shook his head, then hissing lightily in pain when he scratched the bug bite hard enough to draw blood. Simone rolled her eyes and got on her knees, slapping his hands away.

"It's like top-soil at the bottom of my cup." He reached for Greg's coffee.

"WAIT WAIT WAIT THAT'S MY POT!" Greg raced into the room.

"Your pot?" Grissom deadpanned.

"From my secret stash." He grabbed his coffee. "Blue Hawaiian. 40 bucks a pound, grown only a few times on the Island and it is ground to perfection."

"Well, you're using my water." Grissom poured himself a cup, and topped off Simone's near empty one. "Which makes it community coffee. I know for a fact that you only let simone have any because she pays thirty out of fourty dollars. Want some Nick?"

"Nahh."

"What happened to your leg?"

"I don't know man, something at the house must have bit me."

Simone grabbed the rubbing alchohol and whiped the blood away.

"What is that, alchohol on a bug bite? Like butter on burns, baby!" Greg shook his head at his sister. Simone rolled her eyes.

"Coming from the boy who told me to use hemroid cream on my acne when we were kids."

Greg chuckled.

"Worked, didn't it?"

He grabbed his coffee, both mug and bag, and walked off.

Simone rolled her eyes again, a smirk on her face.

"This is good coffee." Grissom stated. Simone nodded. "Let me see the bite before he get's gangrene."

"It's a chigger bite."

"Really?" Grissom looked closely. "So it is."

Simone pulled her bag over to her and pulled out some clear nail polish, applying it to the bite.

"It'll keep it from itching." Simone kissed his leg right above the bite and stood.

CSICSICSICSI

"Simone, what's taking so long." It wasn't like Grissom to be complaining, but he was.

"Dude, it's Braun's blood. He's got so many impuritys in his blood it'll take longer."

Greg looked up and broke the second of silence.

"You know, at one time, Simone and I lived in New York."

"Is this going to be a short story, or a novel, Greg?"

The MasSpec beeped. Saved by the results.

"What's the verdict?"

"No lethal amount of Heroine in this guy's system."

"Xanex?"

"Also not lethal. There are addicts walking around times square with more drugs in their system. Tony Braun should still be alive."

"What was the point of the New York story?"

"You don't want to know. Walk away before he get started." Simone's warning was instantaneous.

CSICSICSICSI

"Guys! Leave me! Go away from me! SHOO!"

Warrick and Sara were crowding Simone as she sat on the futon in her brother's lab.

"Hey Baby! Show me something good."

Simone groaned loudly and threw a piece of paper at him, kicking him in the shin and pulling his jacket around her, closing her eyes tightly.

"I'M ON BREAK!"

The three CSI's scattered.

CSICSICSICSI

"So...What do we got?"

The team, minus Greg, were sitting around a table, eating breakfast. Nick was rubbing Simone's back with one hand while he ate. Rachael kept watching them with a keen eye, sketching the adorable scene in the pad on her lap.

They had filled Simone in on everything that happened while she was passed out on the futon. Found a man digging up a vault of silver, basically.

"I got motive. Acvording to the family lawyer, the drug addict-"

Catherine scoffed, cutting Brass off.

"Now, Jim, that's just a little callous."

"Calling it what it is. Anyway, he was a drug addict who stood in line for his father's business."

"What about the brother?" Sara asked. Simone rubbed her forhead, nursing the headache that had been forming since her break.

"Walt's out of the picture, entirely, but Tony promised to take care of him. Split everything 50/50 up until about a month ago. Tony changed his will. Janine, the stripper, claims that half of everything is hers. My best guess is that Mr. Dig a Vault, Curt Ritten, was diging up Lady Hooker's intrest."

"So what's right in front of us that we're missing?" Nick asked. He wiped his hands on a napkin and began massaging Simone's tense shoulders. Greg had mentioned something about thinking she was going to be sick soon. Simone figured he was right, as this was the beginning of her usual colds. Headache, turning into Grumpy, Sneezy, Dopey, and Sleepy all at the same time. (A/N: SNOW WHITE REFERENCE!)

"What evidence is still open?" Grissom turned his attention to Simone.

"There are the references off of Walt Braun that we gave to Greg, the Tape and Adhesive residue...The...Earring. SARA THE BACK FROM THE EARRING!" Simone jumpped out of her seat, and ran to evidence, ignoring the headach.

CSICSICSICSI

"No match. But the DNA definately came from the ear of a female." Greg was supporting his sister's weight as he read the results to Catherine and Grissom.

"Curt's wife." Simone stated quickly. "Has access to his truck and from what you say, she doesn't really like Janine too much. Hell Hath no Fury. Ladies and Gentlemen, goodnight. My health has left the building."

Simone ended her sentence with a sneeze that propelled her back a step or two.

"Go. Lay. Down." Greg ordered, taking off his lab-coat and wraping it around her, laying her on the futon.

"Sir, Yes Sir."

CSICSICSICSI

"How is she?" Nick asked quietly. Greg put his finger to his lips and pointed at the basement door, whish was open, soft candle light ending halfway up the stairs.

"Sleeping." He mouthed. Then he nodded for Nick to go down. He handed a penut butter and jelly sandwitch to Rachael, who sat next to Mimi, staring at the Muted TV. They All knew the only thing Simone needed to get better was a little silence and alone time with Nick. Greg wrapped his arms around the back of the couch, around both girls.

Nick sat on the bed, wrapping his arms around his restlessly sleeping girlfriend. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. It would be a long night.


	30. Chapter 30

"Is this strap tight enough?" Warrick pulled it tighter anyways, leaving Simone to huff, annoyed.

"It's fine."

"How bout this one."

"Warrick, it's fine!"

"Sorry, sorry. I don't want a crazy Texan and an insane lab rat coming after me because you died...in a crime scene."

"You know you can get cadets to do this, They're used to obstacle courses." Warrick handed her a pair of gloves.

"On a missing persons case we can't wait."

"Well it looks like a kill and dump to me." Warrick handed Simone a pair of gloves, and kicked her shoes to say they had to come off. She dropped to one knee and untied the converse swiftly, replacing them with steel toed boots. "I mean the guy waited till the coast was clear, door to door it's only ten meters."

Simone pulled open the garbage chute, and looked down, attempting to see if anything was down there. She heard the metal groan in protest and flew backwards, her head barely avoiding being chopped off. She smirked and tapped the metal.

"Snappy little sucker, ain't it? Someone should fix that."

"Right after we find Paige."

"Obviously," Simone rolled her eyes pulled the door down and put one leg in. Warrick chucled and helped her down carefully.

"Hey, be careful!"

"Yeah, yeah..."

CSICSICSICSI

The garbage chute had been a bust, unfortunately. Nick had recovered security footage and a print, Sara collected blood and semen samples.

"You showered..."

"Gosh, Gil, thanks for noticing." Simone rolled her eyes, watching the comendeered security video with her boss. "You're so observant."

"Well, I'm not observing what this is." Grissom stepped closer to the screen. "Tell me what you see."

"A five foot eleven workaholic." Simone couldn't see anything past Grissom's back.

"Huh? Oh, sorry!" He stepped out of the way.

"It...looks like somebody...carrying something..." She shrugged, pushing some hair behind her ears.

"There was a rug missing from Paige Rycroff's room."

"Hello!" Nick jogged in and kissed Simone deeply before facing the annoyed looking boss. "I got a hit on my print! I know who covered the camera!"

"Good. We know what he might have carried out."

CSICSICSICSI

Nick had an arm slung across Simone's shoulders, staring down the college boy who was staring _her _down. With much less protective feelings, no doubt. Kids were all the same. Nick scoffed.

Simone slid the picture of the hand print towards the mousey brown haired boy. His eyes sparkled with mirth.

"It's a hand."

"Good! Guess who's hand it is, Genius?" Simone leaned foreward, placing her chin on her laced fingers, elbows on the table.

"Alright!" The boy groaned. "This good cop, silent cop routine is driving me nuts. I'll cop to it! But I won't cop to it alone! It was a prank!"

"A college prank?" Simone rolled her eyes. "You boosted a rug and a couch?"

"We borrowed. Mmkay? We borrowed stuff from the lounge. We were going to return it."

"When?" Nick finally spoke. "After you graduate?"

"My God, Goliath speaks!"

"What else did you steal, Henry?" Simone pressed a hand against Nick's chest, pulling him into silence.

"Uhh. Couple of chairs, a lamp...Few rolls of toilet paper. Look, I'll pay it back."

"Why the forth floor?" Simone rolled her eyes at her lover. He obviously went to college in Texas.

"The fourth, fith and seventh floors have always had the best furniture. Fourth floor is closest to the ground; less stairs. But do you know Paige Rycroff?"

Henry paused.

"Yeah...but...I had nothing to do with...what happened to her."

"But you do know her?" Nick crossed his arms.

"Well, yeah...We live in the same dorm! We have Economics 101 together! So what?"

"So **What**?"

"Paige and I dated once or twice..." The boy smirked at Simone again. "She wasn't my type. If you haven't noticed..I'm in the system now, talent pool's pretty deep."

"She dumped you, then." Simone smirked right back. Henry blinked rapidly and looked away. "That must have been a blow to your ego. You try to change her mind?"

"Look, it wasn't like that!" Henry put his hands up on the table. "Paige was seeing another guy!"

"Do you happen to know this other guy's name?"

"No." Henry rubbed his forhead. "No, Paige never said."

"Hmm."

CSICSICSICSI

"Well...This is one way to get her DNA." Greg spread his arms out over the table with the contents of Paige's shower caddy placed upon it. "Bring me her whole life."

"Greg, It's not as bad as my shower caddy was. Or Mi-Mi's, even. By the way, I told her to take a few days off from school." Simone crossed her arms.

"Why am I here?" Grissom sighed.

"Okay, well, I got Paige's DNA off her toothbrush. Compared it to the blood and semen Sara found in the hotel room."

"The blood isn't Paige's." Simone handed Grissom a sheet of paper. "And check out the tox screen."

"Rohypnol?"

"Date Rape drug, yep."

"Well, Wh-what about the semen?"

"The vaginal contribution to the semen is a match to the blood. But we don't know whose it is." Greg put a hand behind his neck.

"We may have two victims. One missing, One raped." Simone flinched as she said the word, but other than that, there was nothing.

CSICSICSICSI

"Why would a rapist willingly give up his DNA?" Simone asked, pulling on her rubber gloves as she stood in the elevator with Warrick and Grissom.

"Officially, we're looking for the individual who kidnapped Paige Rycroff, not the one who sexually assulted her room mate."

"So we can use their DNA as we see fit."

"Exactly."

Simone swiftly moved down the line, until she got to someone who hesitated.

"Are you refusing?" She rose an eyebrow.

"I-I haven't brushed my teeth..."

"Hey, Mouth-boy, she ain't gonna kiss you, she wants the DNA." Warrick called. The boy opened his mouth and let Simone take the swab.

When the DNA results came back, there was a match, for Kevin Watson. He was out of town when Paige was kidnapped. Another bust.

CSICSICSICSI

"Any idea about the cause of death?"

"Well it wasn't the garbage compactor." Simone looked at Paige with a gaze she had practiced for years. They had discovered her body in the garbage dump two hours ago and she'd been trying to get Paige back to being human shaped for three hours.

She pulled Paige's arm to her side, wincing as it made a sound similar to cracking knuckles, just a lot louder.

"Well, what, then?"

"Blunt force trauma to the abdoman, mass internal bleeding. She died in the dumpster."

CSICSICSICSI

There was a loud clang, and it snapped Catherine, Warrick, Simone, and Nick out of their conversation.

"What the HELL is going on?"

"There's a broken spring on the Chute upstairs." Grissom announced, walking up to his team.

"Yeah, I had to prop it open while Simone propelled down here." Warrick stated.

"Simone did what?"

"Simone did her job." She bumped Nick in the side and rolled her eyes. "You're thinking she dropped her garbage can down the chute."

"But how did Paige end up in the dumpster?" Sara asked.

"No ease of access...Excuse me babe..."

"Hmm?" Nick looked and noticed he was standing next to a gap that Simone was obviously headed for. "Oh, yeah, sure."

"This happened to me before. Greg and I lived on the fourth floor too," Simone pulled herself up over the lid of the dumpster.

"So Paige climbs up to get the can, and in comes Mark Doyle."

"Wait...Who's Mark Doyle?" Simone had been in the morgue most of the night.

"He hit the dumpster."

"Okay. Cause of the blunt dorce trauma. Got it."

"So...Who's responsible?"

"No one." Simone hopped down next to Nick and laced her fingers through his. "It...Was an accident. A chaos theory of events conspiring to kill one poor, innocent girl."


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Ladies (And maybe gentlemen?)...Do we need to have that conversation about reviewing again. *Slowly shakes head* Tisk Tisk Tisk. There is one person who lets me know that they want a new chapter, and this person is none other than IceGirl2772. Y'all should go thank her and give her story a little lovin'. You know...The one about Nick having a little girl? 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Season 1 REWRITTEN'? Yeah, that one! READ IT! IT'S BRILLIANCE ON A STICK!**

**Greg:OR ELSE! *Holds up mysterious chemical* MWAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Simone:Greg, no...Just no.**

**Amdrag: FOR GOD'S SAKE, REVIEW PEOPLE! Reviews equal MORE NICK and Simone of course. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY NICK!**

"Man versus Gravity." Grissom mused looking up at the top of the building that was being constructed and then to the man that had fallen off it. Simone pointed at the body after snapping a picture of it.

"Man lost."

"Maybe that was the point," Robert Harris shook his head.

Sheriff Mobley Walked up, nodding at Simone before turning to Robert Harris.

"Hello, Bob."

"Hello, Brian." The men shook hands.

"Grissom...what are you doing here?"

"Uh...There's a dead guy..." Simone responded.

"But I didn't alerthomicide."

"We caught it on dispatch. The body is on county property." Grissom crossed his arms.

"But we don't need you, we already know what happened. Bob explained it on the phone. His guy, here, was alone up there. He jumped. This is suicide."

"Then why are you here, Sheriff?" Simone rose he eyebrows.

"Uh- uh- Look, Roger Velenti was an unhappy guy. Money problems, family problems. He took the easy way out."

"It's a tragedy, but not a crime."

"Suicide huh?" Simone looked up at the building again. "I don't know. On the day you decide to end your life, why would you go to work?"

The Sheriff humored Grissom and Simone and they went up to the top of the unfinnished building. However, Simone spaced out as he began talking about how this building was going to be the new prison. She didn't space back in until the Elevator jerked, and they came out onto the roof.

"Where was Velenti's work station?" Simone asked.

"Uh, he had the whole floor to himself. He was usually the first guy up. Velenti would drill holes for the safety cables. No one walks a new slab until the cables are looped around the perimeter."

"Terminal velocity is 9.8 M/S squared." Simone approached a platform on the far side of the rooftop. "He would have hit the ground in less than five seconds."

Grissom leaned over the edge. When he came back up, he had a drill with him.

"Did this belong to Mr. Valenti?"

"Well, like I said, he was the only one up here."

"This drill is shorted out."

"Ah...Do you think he jumpped before or after he got the shock of his life?" Simone smiled innocently at Harris.

"GFCI would have prevented the shock."

"What is GFCI?" The Sheriff asked, before looking Simone up and down. "Should you be wearing those boots up here?"

"GFCI is Ground Fault Circut Interrupter. And I'm fine."

"You see, if there's an electrical inbalance the GFCI trips the circut, and the tool's supposed to shut itself off."

"But if the third prong on the plug is compromised, then the interrupter won't work, will it Bob?" Grissom had the tool's plug in his hand.

"The third prong grounds the drill, without it the interrupter is pretty much useless."

"These prongs don't usually snap off easily, do they?" Simone put her hands on her hips.

Grissom looked up and walked across the roof with his kit. There was a pair of metal cutters on the ground.

"Are all your workers this careless with their tools?" Grissom snarked, pulling up a gas chamber. Portable edition.

"I gotta get me one of those!" Simone grinned.

"Mind telling me what you're doing?" Sheriff asked.

"These metal cutters could have been used to tamper with the grounding prong." Grissom replied.

"What happened to good old fashioned printing with powder?"

"Do you wanna risk it?" Simone asked. "Cuz we don't. We're locking these prints in." Grissom grinned as prints showed up on the handle.

CSICSICSICSI

"Quick, name three bones that can withstand a twelve story drop." Doc Robins pointed his crutch at Simone.

"Malleus, Incus Stapes, bones of the inner ear. High cellular density, completely protected by the skull."

"Why?" Grissom asked, watching Simone conduct her own primary autopsy on the victim.

"They appear to be the only bones not fractured or broken..." Simone pulled her gloved hands away.

"Well, I wanna see the entry and exit wounds."

"Gil, he wasn't shot. This is the guy that fell off the new jailhouse; are we talking about the same case, here?" Robins looked at Simone who shrugged.

"He fell after he was electrocuted."

"News to me. I didn't find any phsyical evidence of electrocution."

"Faulty drill. There should be burn marks on one of his palms."

"Negative on the burn marks. Usually, it's a fern like pattern on the chest from hemoglobin leaking into the perivascular tissue. This body contradicts our crime scene."

"I don't care what this body says, this man was electrocuted. It wasn't an accident."

CSICSICSICSI

"Hey!" Simone walked into the room where Warrick was staring at a computer. "How you doing, looking for that palm print we found?"

"Good. Running it through AFIS right now."

"Guess it's a good thing that the jailhouse is a union gig and all the union guys are in the database already."

"Yep." Warrick grinned. "What I did for the print was I lined up the ridge detail from the partial on each handle."

"Ohh, nice."

"So...You think that guy fried before he fell?"

"I don't know. Sara and Grissom found a nail in his boot. It could have peirced through the protective rubber, it could have allowed the electricity to course through his body."

"Bobby Dawson's taking odds. Two to One Grissom's wrong. Five to One he get's suspended for shutting down that jailhouse. And Ten to One-"

"He get's fired."

Warrick didn't have time to respond because at that moment, the computer beeped, announcing a match found.

"Sounds like you got a match."

Simone and Warrick jumped.

"Hey...Griss...How long you been standing there?"

Grissom smiled a little wider.

"It's Robert Harris."

"Does...That name mean anything to either of you?"

"Yeah...Especially if you bet against him." Simone grinned at Warrick and left the room after Grissom. They called in Harris, and weren't too surprised to find him there with the Sheriff.

"Your prints were on the cutters." Grissom began.

"Of course they were! I'm the site manager! My prints are everywhere."

"But you don't really handle the tools, do you?"

"I'm vigilant about safety. I'm always inspecting equipment, tools..."

"Look," The Sheriff rolled his eyes. "The investigation is going to go away, and the site is going to re-open."

"Oh, sure. After the lab processes all the evidence." Grissom crossed his arms. Brass knocked on the glass doors. "Excuse us."

"Listen," Brass said once Simone and Grissom were with him. "I don't like to get in the middle of things."

"Who does?"

"I did a little homework. Our vic? He was voted union rep about three days ago. He demanded overtime pay and pressed for a walkout."

"Motive?" Grissom asked.

"Right. And just in case you were wondering; Robert Harris was the Sheriff's best man."

Grissom led Simone back into the room with the two men.

"What was that about?" Sheriff asked suspiciously.

"Eh, we're in a bowling league together." Simone lied swiftly.

"Can we wrap this up?"

"Sure." Grissom nodded. "Valenti's drill was tampered with. I have only one suspect."

"I read the coroners prelim. It had nothing about electrocution."

"This is why we call it a prelim. Mr. Harris were you opposed to the Victim's union activities?"

"Course not. I'm a union man myself!"

"You're fishing. We're done here. Moving on." Sheriff ordered. He and Harris left. Grissom looked at Simone with a grim look on his face.

CSICSICSICSI

"I need to see the body again!"

Simone ran into autopsy just as Doc Robins was locking up.

"No can do. Released six hours ago."

"Final Reports?"

"Another 24, but there's nothing in there to support Valenti being electrocuted."

"Doc, please." Simone begged, even putting her hands in front of her in the classic beggers pose.

"You wanna see my notes?" He sighed.

"Thanks." They sat at the computer and Doc pulled up his notes. "So what do you have? Anything unusual, even the mundane."

"His troponin enzymes were elevated."

"That could mean he was electrocuted!"

"Yes, but it also can be found in victims of cardiac arrest, most of which have not been zapped."

"Oh, come on, Doc, work with me, here!"

"The Vic also had an elevated concentration of iron in his blood. Six or seven times normal."

"Life threatening?"

"No."

"What else?"

"Well, it fits the bill of "Mundane". His skin looked jaundiced."

"Postmortem deoxygenation."

"Dead or alive, Veneti's skin is yellow." Doc removed his glasses.

"Tell me about his testicles."

Doc Robins blinked at Simone in surprise.

"I- Well, I don't remember. Genetics is facinating and there are things I take note of, but I didn't focus on his genitals."

"Well, thanks, Doc."

"You're welcome." Doc was still shocked over Simone's bluntness.

CSICSICSICSI

"Hey, Sara, You seen Nick?"

"I think he's out getting lunch with Catherine. But listen! We got a thumb print off that nail from Valenti's boot."

"Oh, awesome!"

"Yeah, It's only a partial. Print Lab's running anaylisis. What's in the envelope."

"Rodger Valenti's blood. I had Grissom and Warrick get it. Grissom want's it on plastic."

"Oh. Wanna go for lunch?"

"Later! I gotta work! See ya, Sare!" Simone walked down the hall to get the blood packaged in plastic. Then she dropped it off with Grissom.

"Thank you, Simone."

"Yeah. So you're thinking there was maybe enough iron in his blood to conduct electricity?"

"Exactly." Grissom hooked the pouch of blood up to some contraption. "If there's enough, then it'll turn the light bulb on. Now...Plug in the blood."

Simone did so, and watched as the light bulb on the top of Grissom's contraption lit up.

"Go find me a pickle."

"Okay..."

Simone took off again, searching through the break room fridge. She turned around and saw Sara with a brown bag.

"Is that from the Deli?"

"Yeah, Egg Salad, you want half?"

"No, can I have your pickle?"

"Yeah, you can have it." Sara handed Simone a wrapped pickle.

"Thanks!"

She headed back to Grissom, finding Warrick in there with him.

"Here."

"Thank you." He hooked the pickle up to a new contraption. He flipped a switch and the pickle lit up brightly.

"You turned my pickle into a light bulb!" Sara laughed, taking a bite out of her egg salad.

"I'm electrocuting it."

"We can see that!" Simone grinned. "This is how Greg and I cooked hot dogs in college."

Grissom turned off the pickle-killer machine.

"Check out the burn marks."

"There are none." Simone observed.

"Just like our vic."

"It's because pickles are high in sodium content, and sodium is a conductor, like iron." Simone crossed her arms over her chest.

"Normally the flow of electricity through the body generates heat. Burn marks are the evidence of that heat." Grissom nodded.

"But if the body offers no resistance- no heat, no burn marks."

"Rodger Velenti's body offered up no resistance because of the iron in his blood." Warrick and Sara also began to work it out.

"The Iron conducted the electricity." Sara added.

"Making his body one big wire. Path to ground."

"In through the drill, out through the nail."

"No burn marks, but he was still electrocuted."

"Grissom, you just solved the impossible murder." Sara smiled.

"Don't go popping open that champagne yet. And don't shoot the messenger. Thumb print from the nail..." Greg walked into the room, handing Grissom a paper. Simone caught sight of him and snorted.

"Nice hair, Teddy."

"Oh, gee. Thanks." Greg rolled his eyes. "You make the mistake of falling asleep early one time and your sister gives you a hair cut."

"Simone, go take your break, you've worked non stop. I've got to talk to the Sheriff."

Simone nodded and followed her brother back up to his lab, taking the time to slump on one of the work stools. After twenty minutes of silence, Simone's phone beeped.

'_You need to talk to Nick when you get home. I'm not saying why, but I really think you should._'

The message was from Catherine and it didn't do much other than worry Simone.

CSICSICSICSI

The partial print came up as a match to Ian Wolf. Grissom got a warrant for his tools, and they turned out to be a match too. Just like that, the imossible case was over, and Simone was on her way to see Nick...


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: Changing Simone's actress to Billie Piper, because I need an actual actress instead of just a picture to work off of Google. PS: If anyone would make a fan video, I'd really appreciate it. I mean, that's a real honor. You don't have to, but I'd get real happy, and whoever makes the video gets props on my profile and on the story. The story soundtrack(Basically the songs I listened to while writing the story) is on my profile.**

She knocked on Nick's door in her trademark way. Three times. If he didn't answer, she was allowed to let herself in. He didn't answer. So she pulled out her key and let herself in.

She found Nick sitting in his room, shirtless, staring at the door with only his bedside lamp on.

"What's wrong."

Nick shuddered and put his head in his hands. He shook his head back and forth.

"Nick." Simone watched helplessly as Nick sobbed quietly and began pulling at his hair. "Nick, Nick, calm down. Shh." She cradled his head like she did when he was held at gunpoint by Mrs. Hendler. "Tell me what's wrong, babe."

Nick shook his head again and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend.

"Nicky, please don't shut me out." She couldn't get a response, other than him pulling her back into a laying position. She had enough room to pull out her phone and text Catherine. Nick didn't even notice, he was in the grips of a massive panic attack.

'_Cath, what the fuck is wrong with him?_'

'**He was nine. She was a last minute babysitter. He's locking you out?**'

Simone stared at the text for a long time, wide eyed.

"Oh, Nicky..."

"You aren't gonna run?"

His voice was hoarse, as though he had been screaming into his pillow before she arrived.

"Why would I run from you? You stupid Texan!" She cupped his face and traced the line of his eyebrow with her thumb. "You need to tell me these kinds of things! I'm not going to run the second that I hear you've got a little baggage! Have you taken a look at me? I'm like the freaking baggage check in at airports."

Nick actually let out a chuckle at this, snuggling into Simone, nuzzling her neck. His hand found it's way to her thigh, which was mostly bare because of her shorts.

Nick and Simone's relationship wasn't based off of sex. They hardly had sex. In fact the last time they had had sex was the night he gave her the promise ring. But Simone recognized Nick's sign for what it was. He needed her tonight, body and soul.

Simone pulled her jacket off, and the lace hook top cami followed soon after, leaving her in her bra and shorts. Then she slid her fingers up his arms. Nick shivered and closed his eyes, loosing himself in her touch. He brought her arms up above her head, pushing against them to make sure she knew to keep them there.

Nick dragged the tip of his nose against her skin lightly. From her cheek down to her throat, neck and shoulders. The feather light pressure made her skin explode with millions of goose bumps. He carressed her arms, from the shoulders to the tips of her fingers and back again. Her arousal was coming alive as Nick ran the tip of his nose down her chest.

Simone moaned as Nick paused at her breasts, tugging at her bra covered nipples with his teeth before moving on down her stomach. He circled her belly button before moving down even further. He teased her forever, unbuttoning her shorts and tugging them down. He carressed her inner thighs, her hips. Every inch of skin he could touch while avoiding the one spot they both wanted to be touched.

Nick stopped again, pulling his own pants off, accompanied by his boxers. There was no more forplay that night. Once both of them were bare to each other, Nick took Simone as his again, releasing all the pent up aggression, regret, fear and hate.

CSICSICSICSI

Simone awoke the next morning to the ringing of her phone. She groaned quietly as she stretched, grabbing the phone out of the pocket of her discarded shorts. She tried to ignore the fact that she was sore.

"Hello?"

"Bear, we have a problem..."

"Oh, don't tell me that Frank and Marge busted the pipes again..."

"No...you got a letter..."

"What's so problematic about that?" Simone smiled at Nick as he opened his eyes, trailing her naked body and seeing the bruises he'd left when he lost himself last night.

"Well...It may or may not be a letter from...Uh...Stacey Beaumont."

Simone shot up from her laying position, taking the sheet with her.

"Stacey Beaumont?"

"Yeah."

"SHIT!" Simone fought her way out of her covers and began throwing on her clothes. "What the fuck does that she-devil want?"

"She's here on a business trip and she needs a place to stay and she says she wants to meet Mimi and Nick and everybody else and she's not going to take no for and answer and oh, my God Bear, what the hell are we gonna do?"

Simone froze in the middle of pulling her shorts back on.

"...SHIT! How did she find out about Mimi and Nick? WE WERE SO CAREFUL!"

"I DON'T KNOW!"

Nick had by now gotten up out of the bed, sensing that this was drastically important, and had put his jeans back on.

"Jesus Christ..."

"Get home, NOW! She'll be here soon! Oh, my God, what if she wants to fuck me?"

"She's not gonna want to fuck you, idiot! She's gonna want to fuck NICK!" Simone grabbed her keys and was walking out the door. Then she paused, turned around and kissed Nick straight on the mouth. "You're mine..."

"Oh, yes."

"Good." She pulled her boots on and kissed him again. "Anderson's Diner, four o'clock, pick Mimi, Sara and Warrick up."

"What about me?" Greg asked over the phone.

"You, Teddy, are staying with me."

"Damn."

CSICSICSICSI

"Oh MY GOD! Look at the Sanders Twins!"

Greg and Simone both flinched.

"Yeah..We're not twins, Stacey." Simone ran a hand over the back of her head. "What are you doing here?"

"Silly, didn't you get my letter?" Stacey laughed. "Business trip!"

"Oh...Silly me...How could I...forget?" Simone had only just gotten home and changed. Neither Greg nor Simone had noticed that they had reverted back to the style they had in high school- Punk Rock.

"Well...Neither of you have changed much." Stacey smiled sickeningly sweet.

"Right. Well, I guess you can just put your stuff in the guest room, and then we'll go have dinner."

"Alright." Stacey took barely took a step into the house before Dallas began growling at her.

Simone grinned and made her way past the plastic blonde.

"Sorry, he doesn't like new people." She grabbed the now larger-than-a-puppy dog by the collar and tugged gently to get him to walk with her. She brought him into her room and sat him on her bed. She smiled as he curled up in Nick's spot.

"Good boy, Dal." She kissed the dog on the head and went back up the metal spiral staircase, shutting her door quietly behind her.

"Okay, are we ready to go?"

"Yep!" Greg grinned and took his sister by the elbow so he could whine in her ear. "Why would you leave me alone with her?"

Simone snorted and kissed her brother on the cheek. Stacey made some off-hand comment about incest that the two ignored quite obviously.

The drive to the diner was awkward to say the least, with Stacey complaining loudly about sitting in the back seat.

Simone was relieved to see Nick's Tahoe already parked in it's usual spot in Andersons. Greg got out of the passenger seat and hurried into the diner. Through the window, Simone could see Mimi get up from the table and wrap her arms around him. Greg spun her in a circle before kissing her on the nose.

Simone climbed out of the Tahoe and walked into the diner, holding the door open for Stacey. Stacey made a bee line for Nick. His eyes got wide when Barbie- Er...Stacey hugged him tightly.

"Hey, there, hot-stuff."

"Uh...Hi?"

"What are you doing with a bunch of nerds?"

Warrick cleared his throat.

"He's here to see his girlfriend."

"Awe, handsome, you haven't even known me for two minutes and you're already set on dating me? How cute!"

"Wow..." Greg showed Mimi into the booth first, sliding in himself. Then he looked at his sister expectantly.

"Actually...Simone is my girlfriend..." Nick sidestepped Stacey and leaned down to place a kiss on Simone's lips. "Hello, beautiful."

"Hey, babe." She grinned. They slid into the booth together. They were now in their usual way of seating; Mimi, Greg, Simone and Nick, in that order. Sara, Grissom, Warrick and Stacey on the other end, and then Catherine and Brass brought up the two ends of the table-Catherine had been kicked out of her spot by Stacey.

Dinner went fast, and then they were heading home. Simone hugged Greg goodnight and went down to sleep. That turned out to he her biggest mistake.

CSICSICSICSI

Stacey slowly smiled as she ate her breakfast, which Greg had slaved over a hot stove to make. She waited.

And waited.

And then waited some more.

"SON OF A _BITCH_!"

"Greg...Simone is awake."

Greg went wide eyed when Simone stomped furiously up the stairs. Her hair was not it's usual blonde.

"**STACEY!**"

No. Simone's hair was bright blue.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

Simone launched herself foreward. Greg shouted and grabbed his sister around the waist, yanking her back while he called Nick, thankful for speed dial.

"I need you here now, man! Cat-fight about to go down."

"I was actually already on my way. What happened?"

"You'll have to see this to believe it..."

Nick heard those words, and drove over the speed limit to get there.

"SIMONE, CALM DOWN!"

Nick burst into the kitchen, finding Stacey standing at the counter laughing, Mimi was helping Greg hold Simone away, and Simone was halfway over the kitchen counter. And her hair was blue. Not the dark blue that looked like black. It was more like the shade of blue that you saw on all the scene kids.

Nick stopped staring when Greg and Mimi lost their grip on Simone and she nearly got Stacey. He yelped and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, pulling her into him and kissing behind her ear. The forensic anthropologist froze, her breathing hard.

"I'm not going to lie;" he murmered. Stacey smirked. "I think it's kinda hot."

Stacey's smirk dropped into a face of disbelief, and Simone relaxed into Nick's body.

"I think it's time you left Stacey." Greg murmered. Simone shook her head.

"She can stay. Her flight is in two days, and I don't think it's morally acceptable to let her roam Vegas with the lowly criminals." Simone ran a hand through her new hair. "Besides, what's the worst she can do, now that I've learned to lock my door and keep Dallas in my room at night."

"Okay," Greg sighed. "If you're sure."

"I'm sure."

Three beepers went off in the room, and four sighs followed. Stacey seemed confused.

"Work." Simone explained.

"Who are you working with for your case?" Nick murmered.

"Grissom paged me."

"Sara paged me." He sighed. He leaned down and kissed her. "Go get dressed and get to work. Greg, to the Lab. Mimi, be seeing you."


	33. Chapter 33

"Nice hair, Simone." Brass pointed his pen at her.

"Shut the fuck up. What do we got?"

"Barry Shickle. Wallet still on him. With cash. Recently voted class clown."

"That's funny. People aren't usually scared of the class clown." Grissom mused.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, look at him." Simone gestured to the dead boy's body. "Shot in the back. With his zipper down and hands otherwise engaged. Coward."

Grissom, having forgot a ladder, had to stand on Simone's cupped hands to reach part of the batroom mirror that was broken.

"So it's okay for a student like this victim to return to the school after hours to use the bathroom facilities?"

"Hand me an envalope?" Grissom called to Brass. The Principal turned and glared at Grissom before turning back to Brass.

"Yes, the doors aren't locked up until the janitor ends his shift at eight to eight-thirty. Until then the kids at after school events are free to use the facilities." Grissom removed the bullet from the wall as the Principal was talking.

"Brass!" Simone grunted, loosing her balance slightly.

"Excuse me! One of my students is dead. Are we interrupting you?!" The Principal snapped. Simone cast him a wide eyed glance.

"Yeah, Kinda."

"It's okay, I'll drop by your office later, we'll finish this up."

The Principal continued to glare at Simone as he left. Brass came up and held the envalope for Grissom.

"A slug? So the treasure hunt paid off, huh?"

"Yeah, it better." Simone grumbled. "We have a point of reference now."

"Yeah. Well the nerd squad is off and running. I'm gonna burn a little shoe leather and see if the victim had beef with anyone."

"You do that. I'm sure I'll still be here, holding Grissom up, loosing circulation in my arms." Simone called at Brass's retreating back.

CSICSICSICSI

Cathrine and Warrick walked into the bathroom. Simone was in the corner, shaking out her arms.

"Hey, Construction on Flamingo. I'm sorry." Warrick sighed.

"Give me a hand, will you?"

"Don't do it! You won't have a hand left when you're done!" Simone snickered.

"Whoa, girl. Your head looks like a blueberry."

"SHUT UP!"

"Brass said that the vic had a can of spray paint, right?" Catherine asked. Simone nodded.

"Orange, by my kit." Catherine took a picture of a print on the wall, and then looked at the spray paint. "What is it, Cath?"

"Paint from another source. Come on, we have to go find out who that locker belongs to."

CSICSICSICSI

"That's Dennis Fram's locker." The school counselor, Julia Barrett, informed them.

"Was this a first, or has Shickle done this before?" Simone gestured to the word "Stick" on the boys locker.

"Look, I'm the counselor, I don't know every move these kids make."

"Obviously." Simone murmered. She didn't like this woman. She smelled weird. "Otherwise a kid wouldn't be dead."

"You look like a kid yourself, Miss."

"It's Doctor. Dr. Sanders, and I'm 23. Thank you very much!"

"A doctor? With hair like that?"

"I swear to god, Catherine, if one more person brings up the hair-"

A hand covered Simone's mouth, stopping her from talking.

"Tell us what stick means," Catherine suggested.

CSICSICSICSI

"So what do we got?" Grissom approached.

"Mr. Fram was bullied all year by our vic. 'Stick' has something to do with his build. 'Skinny' and 'Shorty' were also on that locker at one point." Simone stated.

"Can we meet the kid?" Grissom requested.

"Of course, but he would never hurt Barry, He's a good kid."

"Doesn't matter if he's a good kid or not. I was a genius in highschool. Trust me, if you get bullied enough, you can get pushed to do anything if you don't have a good enough venting session." Simone shook her blue hair out of her face.

"We can call him from my office." Mrs. Barrett sighed.

When the boy got there, Simone smiled at him, holding her kit behind her back.

"How tall are you, Dennis?" Grissom started the interragation instantly.

"5'3 and a quarter." He answered hesitantly. Grissom looked at Simone to take over.

"Have you washed your hands within the last hour or so?"

"Yeah." He took a subconscious step closer to the less intimidating presance in the room.

"Well, did you change your shirt?"

He shook his head.

"I'd like to do a test on your shirt, if I may."

"W-what kind of test?"

"A forensic one."

Dennis nodded and peeled off his shirt, revealing another, white t-shirt underneath.

Simone sprayed his shirt, slowly revealing a large blue spot in the center.

"What is that?" Dennis asked, confused.

"Gunshot residue." Grissom replied. "It means you've fired a gun in the last three to six hours."

"Dennis!" Mrs. Barrett gasped. Simone closed her kit.

"The police are going to want to talk to you." She murmured.

CSICSICSICSI

"So you admit to firing a gun." Brass asked. Grissom and Simone both sat at the back of the room, reading the boy's movements.

"I was down at the shooting range. On Desert Way."

"So the same night that Barry Shickle was shot and killed you were out taking target practice?"

"Yes, sir. I go every Monday night. You can ask my sister, she goes with me."

"Where's your gun?"

"I rent different ones there."

"Have you rented a .44 caliber?" Simone spoke up. Dennis turned and looked at her, nodding.

"Sometimes."

There was a commotion outside of the door and a young woman pushed her way through. She cupped Dennis's face in her hands.

"Denny, are you alright? I got your call."

"We're conducting a police investigation here."

"My father will be back in town tonight and you'll be sorry you harassed my little brother." Kelsey Fram snapped.

"Questioned." Brass corrected. "A student was shot and killed in this building tonight."

"Listen, Dennis has explained to you about the gun powder and I'm sure his sister will vouch for his whereabouts. And- he's a minor."

Brass went to open his mouth. Simone slapped Grissom in the arm from her spot leaning on the wall next to him.

"Jim..." He interrupted. Simone jerked her head at the door. Brass nodded.

"We'll be in touch." Brass sighed.

CSICSICSICSI

"Don't you just love the scent of decomposition in the midnight air?" Simone grinned at Greg as they passed people in the hallway. Greg paused next to Sara.

"You smell like death."

"I've heard!" She snapped. Simone grinned.

"You know, a real man wouldn't mind." Greg grabbed his sister's arm and walked away. Simone cracked up laughing.

CSICSICSICSI

"Catherine was a bully." Warrick announced in the break room. Simone looked up from her magazine, a cherry flavored Airhead sticking out of her mouth.

"No way!" Nick protested, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"She was, I've seen her in action."

"Catherine?" Nick shook his head in disbelief.

"I was what?" Catherine walked in as Nick started adding sugar to his coffee.

"I was just telling Nick how you were a big bully in highschool." Warrick grinned.

"Okay, so maybe I was. But not the kind that people wanted to take a gun out and shoot!"

"No!" Nick took a sip of his coffee. "No, you were just the kind that guys fall all over themselves trying to impress."

"Like you, Nick? Hmm?" Catherine put her hand on his shoulder. Both looked over at Simone. She waved her Airhead at them threateningly. Nick grinned and went to sit next to her. "Well, what were you in high school, Nick?"

"Me? I was, uh, dependable."

"Dependable." Catherine repeated, smirking. "Dependable Jock, Dependable Stoner?"

"No, never a strap, never a smoker. Just an all around dependable guy."

Warrick and Simone shared a look.

"Unpopular," They chorused.

"Hey!" Nick slid an arm around Simone. "I was popular with the right people, I'll tell you that. I can also tell you what I wasn't. I wasn't a Mac Daddy wannabe with a members only jacket, putting his swerve on all the ladies."

Warrick laughed.

"Hey, Nick!" Sara walked in. "Ronnie's got something on Liquid Man, says it's hot."

"Alright." Nick pecked Simone on the lips but she brought her hand up to the back of his head, holding him there. Nick breathed out slowly and kissed her longer. She pulled away, a grin on her face.

"You smell like dead people. Take a shower. Lemons."

Nick snorted.

"Hey, Sara, what were you in high school?" Warrick called.

"Science Nerd." She shrugged. Simone chuckled.

CSICSICSICSI

"Okay, So here's the thing." Simone sat on Grissom's desk. "Dennis didn't do it. There was a trace of perfume in the boys bathroom, that matches the older sister's perfume and Dennis said she did it. But I don't think that Dennis saw his sister. I think he saw someone else."

"Well, you're right." Brass handed her a piece of paper, and another to Grissom. "She had a parking ticket at the same time that the victim was shot. Fremont Street. Look who else got a ticket that night."

"Who's Jeremy Spencer?" Grissom asked.

"The football coach." Brass stated.

"Oh..That's gross. I'd never nail my high school football coach." Simone shook her head.

"Too much info, Simone." Grissom rolled his eyes. "But if the sister didn't do it...Who did?"

Simone grinned.

"I think I know."

CSICSICSICSI

Grissom placed a bottle of perfume on Mrs. Barrett's desk.

"We recovered this from your townhouse."

Simone pulled a picture out.

"We also found the gun...It hasn't been cleaned."

"Well, I don't know how to clean a gun. That was my husbands." Mrs. Barrett smiled.

"Everyone can shoot a gun, though."

"Do you know how many kids come to school and kill, just to get relief from a bully? You talked to them. Boxing practice and target practice? How long before one of them came in here and opened fire on a hallway full of kids, hmm? I just thought that one life was better than twenty. Or thirty."

"Or eleven." Grissom pulled out a file. "Brass ran a search on you. Arizona, eleven kids shot after Columbine. You were the Assistant Principal."

"I watched them die. At my feet. All because some sophmore couldn't take the jokes about his glasses."

"You know, as hard as highschool is, Mrs. Barrett, eventually it's over. But too soon for Barry Shickle." Simone grabbed the evidence and walked out of the room.

CSICSICSICSI

"What is that smell?" Stacey complained as soon as Nick, Simone and Greg walked into the room.

"It's the stench of death!" Simone crossed over to the fridge, grabbed a lemon, cut it in half, and pushed Nick down the stairs to her bedroom. She paused for a minute, looked back at Stacey, and cursed. "DON'T USE THE HEAD AND SHOULDERS SHAMPOO! THY HAIR WILL BE SMURFIFIED!"

Nick's laugh drifted up the stairs, leaving Simone with a look of satisfaction.

"You're still weird, Sanders. No wonder you didn't get laid during high school."

"You're still a Hoe, Beaumont. Surprising you didn't get pregnant in high school."

"Ladies, please. Lets not have a cat fight." Greg sighed.


End file.
